Lillies Upon our Graves
by Obsidian Buterfly
Summary: The last of his wounds- including the broken arm- healed up and tired golden eyes looked up at him. "Syaoran-kun." Fai was vaguely aware of the tears trailing down his cheeks as he stared at the boy. "I'm sorry." Warnings: Post-TRC, AU, possible character deaths
1. Beginning

Kurogane wandered down the darkening streets, watching people around him hurry about to their homes. No one paused to spare the menacing-looking ninja any attention whatsoever, which suited the Japanese warrior just fine. Cold wind attacked his exposed face and once again he was thankful for the fact that he had been already dressed in winter clothing from the last world they had visited. The weather was not as cold as the previous world, but with the manju once again having dumped the kid and the mage who-knows-where in this world, he was pretty much on his own. He had been on his own for nearly a week now, constantly searching for his companions without much success. He was lucky that the mage had had enough sense of mind to spell his sword back into his arm in case of a scenario just like this, for the world they had arrived in was not quite a pleasant place to be in without some weapon for self-defense.

From what little information he had gathered during his time there, Cavahall was a city divided between two major warring factions. The city had sky scrapers that reached high up into the sky, vanishing out of sight far above the smog-filled skies that rarely ever let any sunlight through. The air was heavy with exhaust fumes, the dark underbelly of the city contrasting sharply with the glitz and glamour broadcasted on the big holo-screens hovering high up above his head, counting down the time limit for some upcoming tournament.

Hearing thunder rumble across the sky, the ninja figured it would be best to wait out the stinging rainfall in the shelter of a bar. If the black, sludge-like rain let up early, maybe he could even head out to look for the others a little longer. The first of the drops began pattering against the littered streets behind him just as Kurogane ducked inside a cramped-looking bar, _The Prickly Pan_. Pulling out his cred-card- something he'd acquired via gambling on his very first night there- the ninja ordered himself a stiff drink to chase off the cold as he cast a look around. Random, soot-covered strangers surrounded him, some laughing raucously in their drunkenness while others tried to drink their sorrows away, while others still lay slumped across counters and tables. A pang of irritation and disappointment hit him as he realized that he could not spot the familiar flash of blond nor the brown mop anywhere. Throwing back the amber liquid from the glass of questionable hygiene, the ninja ordered himself another shot as he turned his attention towards the holo-screen mounted on the wall behind the bar.

Promos ran on them in a constant loop from the sponsor of the tournament, an organization called 'The Company' which pretty much owned and ran the whole of Cavahall. Except for the parts currently occupied by a rebelling faction known as 'Liberalists', though according to the latest news broadcast, another sector of the city had been reclaimed in a recent raid against them. The Company had apparently also acquired several rare 'Unnaturals' during the course of this attack. Some bar goers cheered at the news, while others merely shook their heads in disgust and looked away. As the broadcast gave way for some sappy romance movie, people around him began placing bets on who would win the latest tournament.

Kurogane downed his second drink of the night, feeling the liquid burn down his throat as he marveled at the fact that while he could not read the language, he could still understand what was being said around him. A fact that assured the ninja that at the very least, one of his travelling companions was somewhere close by. The range of the manju's translating abilities had spread quite a bit during the time they'd spent travelling, so he couldn't be completely sure how near or far away the thing was. But if he was lucky, maybe the kid or the mage had already met up with it and were looking for the rest of them. As soon as they were all together, they could head off to the next world. After all, a week was normally the maximum amount of time the kid could spend in any particular world before the urge to move on started to overwhelm him. The one time the kid had tried to push his limit and stay a little longer in Clow had not been pleasant for anyone when he'd developed a fever that nearly left him comatose until they finally departed. For the kid's sake, he sent up a silent prayer that they'd be able to meet up long before it ever came down to something that drastic.

He was on his third glass when the lights flickered and blacked out, followed by the unmistakable sounds of screams and gunfire. The loud conversation inside the bar fell silent so suddenly Kurogane could hear the man sitting next to him gulp in fright. The ninja tried to squint through the glass window to see what was happening outside but the soot and sludge-rain had blackened the panes to opaqueness, making it impossible for him to discern anything.

As quickly as it had begun, the gunfire outside ceased and the last of the screams died down. For a heartbeat, everything was still and then chaos reigned.

The window blew inwards, shooting shards of glass everywhere. Years of training came into play as the ninja flipped off his barstool and behind the counter, pulling the scared-looking bartender down with him as he went. A half-filled glass of alcohol shattered on the ground next to the warrior as the raucous drunk that had been seated next to Kurogane only moments before slumped over the counter, dead. The ninja had not known the man but he could recall him having placed all his possessions on the line for a bet that someone called Vixen-420 was going to win the tournament once again. Now, as the ninja looked up at his face, his vacant grey eyes stared into thin air, blood beginning to trickle from his parted lips. The backup power source kicked in right then, giving his corpse an eerie wax-like quality in the dull glow that now emanated from a few ancients bulbs on the ceiling.

Tearing his gaze away from the sight, he spared a glance towards the whimpering man curled up on the floor next to him before cautiously peeking out from behind the counter. He took note of the fact that every single customer in the bar was dead, their bodies riddled with shrapnel from the explosion and surprisingly enough, bullet holes. As silently as possible, the ninja brought together his hands and summoned his sword, ignoring the fact that his unusual ability seemed to cause the bartender added distress.

"Stay here and try not to get killed," he warned the man, slipping over the counter without any effort before dropping to a crouch on the other side. Using the shadows and dead bodies around him for cover, he carefully made his way over to the destroyed window and hazarded a look outside, even as he tried to figure out why The Company would raid Sector 64B, an area already under its control. Unless…had the Liberalists had launched an attack in retaliation to the raid mentioned on the news? But why go after innocent civilians? So far, from what he'd managed to gather about the way these rebels operated- from the gossip and speculations going on around him in the bars and the news on the holo-screens- they normally favored hitting the more posh areas where all the upper-class level bureaucrats and power junkies held property or businesses.

Stealing another look outside, Kurogane noted that the rain and general darkness outside made it hard to make out much apart from a few blurry shapes darting down the streets, the gunfire and screams now sounding a little further away. He decided to wait out the rest of the raid in the relative safety and cover of the now-destroyed, corpse-littered bar and made to banish his sword when a flash of gold darting right by the window made him stiffen. It only took him a fraction of a second to identify the source as Fai before he was racing out into the pouring rain after him. He was careful not to call out the blond's name and attract unwanted attention to the pair of them, but he did try and force his legs to move faster to catch up with the swiftly moving magician. For some reason, the blond was moving at vampire speed, rushing straight towards the sounds of gunfire and screaming.

Before Kurogane could do anything to stop him, the blond had rounded the corner and vanished from sight. A second later, something barreled right into him, knocking him into a wall, nearly making him lose his grip on Ginryuu. Shaking his head to clear his vision, the ninja readjusted his grip and only barely managed to block the swipe of vampire claws aimed for his throat before kicking his attacker away. Bringing up Ginryuu in an offensive stance, he struggled to make out the features of his assailant in the gloom. A flash of thunder had his heart leaping to his throat as he caught a glimpse of a familiar face framed by messy, wet bangs. Their lips pulled back in a feral snarl, exposing a set of fangs that the mage had rarely ever displayed except on those cold nights in Infinity when he had forced the magician to drink his blood. But it wasn't the magician that appeared to want to rip him to shreds. The wild cat-slit eyes that followed his movements predatorily as he readjusted his stance to cater to this new development were never supposed to have been any color apart from gentle, heartwarming amber.

The kid made no motion of having recognized him, darting across the space that separated them in a fraction of a second, forcing Kurogane to twist out of the way to avoid hurting his apprentice.

"Kid!" He yelled, dodging around the brunette's claws for a third time, "It's me!"

Still, Syaoran did not seem to recognize him as he kept up the attack, claws swiping through the air fast enough to nick Kurogane's flesh arm. If Kurogane had thought the boy was feral before, he seemed to be well beyond a mindless animal now as blood welled up from the newly-inflicted wound and the brunette raced towards him with more ferocity than before. Deflecting the assault with a fluid move, Kurogane followed it through with a sharp jab from his metal arm before dropping low to avoid having his face ripped off. The fight was intense but somehow, it lacked the grace Syaoran had developed over the years through endless hours of practice. There was nothing coordinated about his attacks whatsoever, his movements driven completely by mindless, predatorial hunger. But what could have led to him being in a state like this in the first place? Had he perhaps slipped into another coma and the mage had been forced to give him some of his own blood to keep him alive?

Kurogane easily side-stepped the next attack, catching hold of the kid's forearm before using it and the brunette's momentum to throw him into an upturned garbage can. Sparing a quick glance around for the mage- in case the blond knew of some better way to subdue the boy- he rushed forward. Driving Ginryuu's hilt into Syaoran's temple, Kurogane knocked him out. Still clutching his sword in one hand, he bent over the unconscious boy to check him over. Despite the freezing rain, the brunette was burning up, his breath coming in shallow rattles.

It was a wonder Kurogane had not noticed it before. The kid was running a very high fever. Which was probably why he was completely out of his mind. And why he had been so easy for Kurogane to take down. He supposed the accelerated healing rate must have been slowed down some as well, if the boy was still sick even after being turned. But what in the world had the blond been thinking to even turn the kid in the first place?

Gunshots and shouts rang through the air, the words suddenly completely incomprehensible to the ninja as bright lights shone in their direction. _The meat bun must have strayed out of range. _Seeing the sword in his hand, no matter how loosely it was being held on to now, caused the newcomers great alarm as guns were instantly pointed at him.

The previous orders were repeated in harsher, angrier tones. Kurogane frowned, readjusting his grip on Ginryuu as he assessed the situation. These men wereunder the employment of The Company and the kid now fit the definition of an Unnatural in their eyes. The former made an occupation out of capturing the latter, so that didn't really leave Kurogane with much choice in what he was to do now. He could only hope the mage would show up soon enough to even the odds before things got nasty. Not that he didn't have faith in his own ability to keep the kid safe. But he did not know how fast Syaoran would wake up and what state of mind he'd be in when he did.

The orders- probably for him to discard his weapon and step away from Syaoran, if their gestures were anything to go by- were repeated for a third time. There was a ring of finality in the silence that followed promising dangerous consequences if he were to disobey. Spreading his feet apart, Kurogane readied his stance, narrowing his eyes as the men exchanged alarmed looks.

"Not a chance in hell." He spat, darting forwards, relying on his skills- acquired through years of practice at avoiding projectiles- to dodge the bullets fired towards him.

What little he couldn't dodge, he deflected with Ginryuu's magically-blessed blade. He was doing rather well at holding his own until reinforcements arrived with faster weapons. He tries not to hiss at the sting as a bullet grazed his side. The rain began to fall harder, making the ground slipperier and more difficult to land on every time he flipped or spun out of the way of an incoming attack.

Soon enough he was pushed to the defensive- a position he had never imagined himself to be in for longer than a couple of seconds. And then he was being forced to retreat as all he could do was deflect bullets so fast his muscles screamed in agony. He could hear a commotion on the other side of the line formed by the reinforcements and could only spare enough thought to pray it was Fai before he focused his attention back to protecting the kid. Another bullet got through his defenses, this one embedding itself deep in the circuitry of his mechanical arm. Although he felt no pain, the arm slowed in its response time, something that cost him dearly when three sharp, tiny _somethings_ punched their way through his gut and chest. He barely had time to gasp as a fourth bullet tore into his shoulder, knocking him off balance. His foot collided with something as he stumbled backwards, sending him sprawling onto his back as Ginryuu slipped out of his grip and rolled away.

He struggled to get back to his feet. He couldn't let them take the kid! But a sudden numbness spreading out from deep within him made it impossible to move. Something warm bubbled up his throat, leaking from the tiny punctures in his body, burning trails down his rapidly cooling flesh even as the rain kept up its merciless assault.

He had always known that he'd die- one did not become an assassin without acknowledging that truth- but whenever he had pictured it, it had always been in a way where his life had served the purpose of protecting the people he cared about. Now as the sounds of gunfire and thunder and rain began to fade away into his too loud _(too raspy_) breathing, his only regret was having failed to protect the kid. He heard more yelling, but the words were still impossible to make out. Though that was probably as much a fault of his senses failing him as it could have been him not actually understanding the language. His last thoughts as his body began shut down were a silent apology to the kid and a prayer to the deities to watch over him and the mage before his eyes slid close and he knew no more.

**_A/N: Things don't seem too promising for the gang. (Again) Anyone wanna guess what could have happened to Syaoran and Fai? And is Kuro dead? And what about Mokona? Free cookies and Mokona-cuddles for everyone who drops me a review. ;)_**

**_For the sake of clarity I just want to point out that this plot is set around four to five years post-TRC. (which means that Syaoran is around 18 to 19 years old physically speaking)_**


	2. Treatment

_Kurogane-san…_

Fire burnt through Kurogane's veins. He needed air, but...

_Help me…_

He choked on the thick substance blocking his airway. He couldn't draw in a proper breath.

_Please… help me…_

Why… where… wha- he clawed at the thing choking him, numb fingers trying to grasp the offensive object as pain registered in his torso.

"Whoa!" Soft hands pushed his pawing fingers away. "Easy there, Steel."

He tried to resist. There was something in his throat!

"Stop struggling," a female voice ordered, but he didn't listen. He needed air. Could she not see that?

"I just spent a day and a half struggling on your deathbed to save your _life_, you stubborn mule!" the woman snapped, "Quit being so difficult!"

He gasped for breath, limbs flailing as he tried to remove whatever had been shoved down his throat, but the woman finally grabbed him and held him down.

"Stop trying to pull it out, you stupid oaf," she said, letting go of him for the second time, "Do you _want_ to choke to death?"

By now, some distant part of his brain had realized that no, despite the thing jammed down his throat, he hadn't yet asphyxiated. In fact, his lungs filled with air of their own accord, his body taking in fresh oxygen without having to think about drawing a breath. Calming down a little, he slowly forced his eyelids to part, feeling as though they were weighed down by lead. A flesh-colored blob hovered above him for a moment, disappearing from his line of vision soon after, leaving him staring at a sterile white roof. Something warm flooded his veins, chasing away the burning sensation in his body. The pain from before numbed to a dull throb with each beat of his heart. He finally noticed the steady, mechanical beep that seemed to echo each pulse of pain.

"Feel any better now?" The fleshy blob appeared above him once again, resolving itself into a face, half-concealed by a medical mask. "You scared the hell out of us, you know," the woman told him as she bent over him to check something. Kurogane only half-listened to what she said, his mind working overtime as it tried to work out his current whereabouts. "From now on, I forbid you to flat-line on me, understood?" She pulled away to give him a stern look. "And doing that twice in a row is _definitely_ out of the question."

In the brief moments that she held his gaze, Kurogane scanned whatever was visible of the face under the mask to determine who it was. Unfortunately, nothing about the kohl-lined amber eyes or the messy black hair streaked with strands of crimson appeared familiar. The woman behaved as though she knew him, but he couldn't recall having ever met her on his journey.

She must have noticed his confused stare, for she grew silent, worry clouding her eyes as she fussed over him some more. "What's wrong? Does it still hurt?" She turned to look at something outside his field of vision. "Maybe just give the morphine a minute to kick in, all right?" she suggested hesitantly before plowing on as though afraid he might interrupt, "I know you hate that stuff since it _dulls the senses,_" she pitched her voice to sound manly- an imitation of him, perhaps? "but I really don't like seeing you in so much pain, Steel. Besides," Her tone lightened as she stepped away from him, her face crinkling in a smile around the edges of her mask, "Tommy would probably skin me alive for your suffering and we both know you love me too much to let her do something like that."

Kurogane tried to speak, but thought better of it when his throat screamed in protest. The look on his face must have been an amusing sight for the woman as she giggled, patting his bandaged shoulder.

"Don't worry. She's been itching to see you too," she assured him. "In fact, I'm willing to bet she's still hovering right outside the door even though I kicked her out _yesterday_. I'll go and get her now." She turned to leave but seemed to think better of it as she whirled around to glower at him. "Don't you dare try to be macho and get up when she comes in. If you rip anything open after all that hard work I put in, I am _so_ going to stand by and watch you bleed to death." And then, as though she hadn't just been giving him a death threat, she turned back, gracefully moving towards the off-white door. Twisting the handle, she pulled it open and stepped through, closing it behind her.

The mechanical beep continued in sync with his heartbeat, allowing Kurogane to deduce it was a pulse monitor of some sort. Letting his gaze wander around the room, he took note of the multitude of machinery piled up around his bed. The clothes he had been wearing for the past week lay in tatters in one corner, right next to a plastic chair. He only got as far as making note of the medicine cabinet installed on the wall above the chair before his attention was drawn back towards the door as it swung open. The woman from before had returned, a pleased grin plastered on her lips now that she had discarded the mask, followed by a face Kurogane would recognize in any dimension.

Had he been breathing on his own, it would have hitched as he met that familiar lavender-eyed gaze. As it was, however, the only indication of him being surprised to see the woman here was the slightly faster beeping of the monitor.

"Looks like he's happy to see you too, Tommy." The woman chuckled, shutting the door securely behind her once more. "He's looked better, I suppose, but given the state he was in when we found him, can I just say that I'm probably the greatest healer you could have ever wished for?"

Kurogane only heard the cheerful woman speak with half an ear, the rest of his attention focused on Tomoyo, who stood as if rooted to her spot by the door. A steady stream of silent tears flowed down her face as she stared at him, a million wordless questions flashing through her eyes. She held his gaze for a moment, then threw herself at him, making him hiss in pain as her warm body barreled into his. She was crying openly now, sobs shaking her petite frame as she clung to him.

"Easy with the hugging there, Princess," the healer reminded Tomoyo, stepping forward to pry her away from him. "Remember what I told you outside? His insides are still knitting themselves back together. We don't want to risk internal bleeding now that he's finally out of the woods, do we?" Despite the relief offered to his suddenly pulsating chest, he missed her warmth around him. Nodding, Tomoyo hurriedly wiped away her tears, sniffling as she glared at him with bloodshot eyes.

"Where the _hell_ have you been all these months?" The fierce display of anger appeared rather out of character for the Tomoyo he had known, and he belatedly realized that this was merely another version of the Tomoyo he knew. "I saw you go down in Sector 74-C. I thought you were- and…you've been alive…all this time…" She searched his face for what felt like an eternity before looking away, disappointed with whatever she saw there.

"Why?" she asked softly, refusing to look at him even as Kurogane noticed fresh tears making their way down her face. "Why didn't you come back here? If you couldn't have come back... Why didn't you try to contact anyone? Why didn't you..." she trailed off, her voice softening, barely audible over the erratic beeping, "contact me..."

_I'm not who you think I am, _he wanted to say, but found it impossible to form words past the tube in his throat, forcing him to settle for staring at her. This Tomoyo had known another version of him. A version that was, by now, most definitely dead because the laws of reality would not have permitted their group to land in that dimension if even one version of them still existed there. It was impossible for two versions of the same soul to exist in a single plane. The man Tomoyo thought she was complaining to was long gone, and here _he_ was, unable to even answer her questions. He made to pull out the breathing tube, wanting to explain, but before he could grab it, the medic effortlessly pulled his hand away with a disapproving frown.

"You're not in any condition to be pulling that out," she said, "Tommy can _wait _a little longer to get those answers from you. She's waited this long, after all." The last part was directed towards Tomoyo, who merely gave her a stiff nod.

"Masooma, could you please give him a complete scan?" she requested, turning away from Kurogane as she made her way towards the door. "Now that we know he's not in danger of**—**well, now that he's going to be okay, I think it's safe to test him for neural implants."

"Tomoyo... you really don't think that-" Whatever it was that Masooma thought implausible about the request, Tomoyo calmly cut her off.

"Steel has been missing for _six_ months," she said, pausing by the exit long enough to cast one last lingering gaze in his direction. "Until he's capable of telling us where he's been, it wouldn't hurt to be safe. Besides," she added, "he'll approve of the precautions. Get Nixon to check for any outgoing transmissions on hidden frequencies while you're at it. We need to be certain he's clean."

Masooma hesitated for a moment, glancing between the two of them before sighing as she nodded. The healer walked over to the medical cabinet Kurogane had noticed earlier and fiddled around inside it for a moment, emerging with a needle that contained a sickly-looking orange liquid. Returning to his side, she stuck the needle into the bag of clear fluid that hung above his cot. Kurogane followed the swirling patterns the liquid made as it mixed with the existing fluid that trickled into his veins through the needle stuck in his arm.

Despite having woken up a short while ago, his body began to feel heavy, drowsiness overtaking him as the women discussed why it would be a bad idea to have Cavahall knocking down on their door. He only picked out words like 'not', 'losing,' and 'bastards,' figuring it meant something along the lines of not losing to the Cavahall soldiers. Soon, he was too tired to even keep his eyes open, and Tomoyo's soft voice and the steady beep lulled him back to sleep.

-0-

"Subject 224 going into shock," a nurse announced urgently as a convulsing body was rolled down the stark white hallways of the medical wing on a gurney. "Symptoms indicate Neural Implant Rejection. Requesting immediate assistance to stabilize the subject."

"Prep 224 for immediate surgical procedure," a cool voice said as the gurney was rolled to a stop near the end of the hallway. Soulless black eyes stared down at the thrashing creature.

"Ma'am?" she asked in confusion. "Despite the rejection, there is still a chance to salvage control on the subject. Why do you-"

"224 is a very rare acquisition," The speaker cut in sharply. "It is a _Magirius Vampirosa_."

Realizing her mistake, the nurse gulped nervously before nodding. If the Director was showing personal interest in the subject, she must have something in mind for it. The Director reached down with a well-manicured nail to trace one side of 224's face as it twisted in agony. A feral snarl escaped the subject's throat.

"Hybrids of this kind are very hard to come by, harder still to procure in such peak physical condition." The Director's soulless eyes turned on the nurse, making the latter stiffen in fear. "There are hardly any of its kind left. It would be _very _disappointing to see such a perfect specimen die." She let the words hang in the air for a moment, watching as the poor woman began to quake in her boots. Turning her back to the flailing hybrid, she gave one final warning. "It had better be alive by the end of the day."

The nurse looked down when the subject snarled, noticing the way sweat had plastered its blond hair to its skin. Its eyes rolled in their sockets, flashing between their usual blue and the _Vampirosa_ gold as the 224 threw its head from side to side. Its breathing hitched, the hybrid's body arching of the gurney as it struggled against the straps holding it down before it crashed back down. A scream erupted from its throat, claws extending as it fixed its inhuman glare on her. She trembled, transfixed on the spot in fear.

"Please," she gasped when the creature spoke, "help me."

She bit her lip, watching as the hybrid's body went rigid for a fraction of a second before it began having another seizure. A pair of orderlies arrived to assist her, drawing her attention away from 224. Not wanting to discover what unpleasantness awaited her if she were to fail, the nurse pushed the gurney towards the operating room, sending an orderly to fetch the doctor in charge of 224.

**_A/N: So who's happy I didn't kill Kurogane? And who can guess 224's identity? (I know it's pretty obvious but go on guys, humor me. ;) ;) ) Oh and in case anyone is wondering, there _****will****_ be OCs in this story (more than half my plots don't work without those guys) but I will also be trying out a lot of new things with my writing this time around so you will be seeing AU versions of a lot of canon characters from the manga as well. And! *drum roll please* Mokona will be getting its very own POV slots. _**

**_Now go ahead and drop me a review. You know you want to. _**


	3. Captivity

**_A/N: Here's another chapter for you guys. Just a little note about the timeline of events. Take the very first chapter with Kurogane at the bar as the reference point for when something is happening. I know it can get a little confusing because I'll be jumping between the present and the week that passed before the starting point. So yeah… keep that in mind when you see the headings for the time. ^^; _**

**_Enjoy~_**

**1 Week earlier:**

"How many worlds has it been since we last received a welcome like this, Syaoran-kun?" Fai asked as he sprinted down the maze of pristine white hallways with the brunette in tow. Armed soldiers yelled warnings as they gave chase, firing shots after them. Unfazed by the hostile reception, Fai and Syaoran merely took a sharp turn when the corridor split into several paths.

"Not sure, Fai-san," Syaoran- now nearly a man- responded, skidding to a halt when their way was blocked by even more guards at the other end. Without losing another second, the duo turned on their heels, retracing their footsteps to take a different corridor, which led them to a staircase. "When did we last land in Rekourt?" They barreled down the stairs, bullets embedding themselves into the walls behind them.

"A month ago, I think," replied Fai, skipping the last four stairs to land in a graceful crouch. "Those librarians can hold a grudge longer than Kuro-chan," he complained, a hint of a pout in his tone, "although, technically we did steal their property the last time we were there..." He looked up to see how far behind their pursuers were. Two flights of stairs separated them, giving the magician enough time to take in the rest of their surroundings and figure out their next path. The stairs had led them to a large lobby with imposing, carved pillars stretched out between the tall roof and a dark, glossy, marble floor. Judging from the way it was decorated, it appeared to be a reception area of some sort. A pair of revolving doors marked the sole exit and entry point into the building.

When a bullet missed Syaoran by a hair's breadth, Fai decided they had dawdled enough. Throwing one last glance over his shoulder at the nearing soldiers, Fai grabbed Syaoran's arm and sprinted across the slippery floor to reach the exit. Unfortunately, they had to skid to a halt when more armed soldiers began to pile through the exit they had been running toward. Letting go of Syaoran, Fai looked back once again. The guards chasing after them from the upper levels had finally caught up as well, advancing toward them with raised weapons.

"Well," Syaoran said as he looked around them, spotting more soldiers pouring into the reception area from other parts of the building, all arriving with the intention of cutting off their escape, "this is inconvenient."

"It's at times like these I _really_ appreciate Kuro-grumpy lurking over our shoulders," Fai admitted, feeling less out of breath than Syaoran appeared to be as he scanned their surroundings for any hidden escape routes. "Oh well." The blond shrugged when he found none. "His absence can't really be helped, I suppose." He called on his magic, feeling the familiar power course through his body to concentrate in the tips of his fingers as he raised his hand, tracing the all-too-familiar Celesian runes through the air. Finishing off his spell with a flourish, Fai lowered his hand, waiting for the letters to do his bidding and clear a path towards the revolving doors for them. To their shock, however, the magical lettering merely hovered in the air for a moment or two before dissipating as though swallowed up by the atmosphere.

"This is new." He frowned, eyes darting across the tightening circle of soldiers for any weaknesses as he unleashed his vampire claws. Next to him, Syaoran summoned his sword.

"A _Magirius Vampirosa?_" A cool female voice spoke up from somewhere beyond the ring of soldiers, "And it has a young _Magirius_ with it." With his enhanced vampire hearing, he could easily make out the gleeful undertones to the woman's voice. A cold feeling settled in the pit of his stomach as his sixth sense screamed the word _danger_ at him. "I want these specimens _alive,_ gentlemen," she continued.

The need to get out as soon as possible suddenly overwhelmed Fai, even as he tried and failed to find any weaknesses in the formation surrounding them. He did not know why a mere voice was eliciting such a reaction from his instincts, but he knew better then to question them in such a difficult situation. One of the guards stepped forth, shoulders squared as he pointed his weapon towards them, finger loosely placed on the trigger, though he did not seem inclined to press it just then.

"We will give you one chance to lay down your weapons and come with us quietly," he said, though his demeanor did little to ease the knots tying themselves in Fai's gut. Everything about the situation seemed wrong. When neither Syaoran nor Fai made any attempts to take such a _generous_ offer, the man merely shrugged as though he had no qualms about taking them down by force.

"You take the right half and I'll take the left?" Syaoran suggested in a whisper. Fai chuckled at the suggestion, but they'd been in worse scrapes than this before. They'd find some way to manage it. In fact, it was silly to think he was getting so worked up over a voice. Nodding his assent, they both darted forwards, maneuvering their way past the first few bullets. A part of him wondered why the men were not worried about hitting their own comrades upon missing their intended targets. Fai tried swiping at a few of the soldiers, trying to take out their legs from under them as he dropped to a low crouch, moving as fast as his vampire speed would allow in order to make himself a difficult target to follow.

Syaoran, on the other hand, had no such speed to rely on when a bullet tore through his flesh, ripping a pained scream from his lips as he fell to the ground with a dull thud. The scent of the brunette's blood was enough cause for Fai to turn around, screaming his companion's name in alarm and leaving himself open to attack. Even as the boy tried to yell out a warning, several bullets embedded themselves deep within the flesh of Fai's back. They flooded his system with burning chemicals that dulled his senses so swiftly he was hardly aware of crashing to his knees before the world grew dark.

-0-

The first thing Fai noticed as he came to was that he was lying face down on a hard surface. The second thing he noticed was that he was cold, not because the surface beneath him was cold, but because he seemed to be missing almost all his clothes. Blinking in confusion as he tried to recall the circumstances that had led to this, he tried to sit up. Had he by any chance hit a local bar and gotten so drunk he'd ended up spending the night somewhere he wasn't supposed to? No, that didn't feel right. Surely Kurogane would not have let the situation get _that_ out of hand. Besides, he doubted he'd have passed out in such an uncomfortable place _without_ his clothes, even if that had been the case.

And his movement was limited to mere fidgeting, thanks to the bands of metal clasped around his wrists and ankles.

Hearing a rustle of fabric, Fai turned his head, facing what appeared to be a man's back. He could hear the occasional chink of glass against metal, making him wonder just what his captor was up to, probably having not yet realized he was awake. Fai carefully tested his restraints, realizing with a faint pang of disappointment that he couldn't break through the metal chaining him down. There was nothing more than the man's back in the mage's field of vision, leaving him unable to assess the situation. All he could tell was that he was being held against his will in a vulnerable and potentially dangerous situation.

He still couldn't recall enough of what happened earlier, but he was able to conclude that he and Syaoran had been trying to escape and had been captured before they could make it to safety. He closed his eyes and forced his muscles to relax, feigning unconsciousness when he felt the other man start to turn towards him.

Something beeped and hissed as a pair of heels clacked their way across the floor towards him. Relying on the sound of the footsteps as they approached him, Fai guessed that the door was merely three feet away from where he lay—a short distance to bolt across when he finally managed to free himself from his confinement.

"What have you to report, Doctor?" the woman asked. It took Fai a moment to recognize the voice: the woman from the lobby where they'd been captured.

"The specimen physically appears to be of twenty and three years of age," the doctor said. "It's impossible to deduce the creature's true age—always is with this particular species—but there appears to be some faint scarring around his left eye. Fortunately, it's near impossible to see unless in the correct light."

"I suppose that is to be expected, with its accelerated healing," the woman hummed in response. "Have you altered the protocols for it?" Fai felt her hands brush some hair back from his face. "Quite a pretty specimen, this one is." Had Fai not been faking his sleep, he was sure he would have been sputtering in indignation at being called _pretty._ Since he could not do that, he forced himself to pay attention to what was being said. "Is it suitably prepared for the procedure?"

"Of course," the doctor said. "We have found that the implants take better when they're installed in a conscious subject as opposed to one that is put under for the duration. I have already factored in the accelerated healing and recalibrated the instruments. Now all that needs doing is for the subject to regain consciousness."

"Perhaps a shock or two might quicken the process," she suggested lightly.

Fai tried not to give himself away by reacting too soon when he heard that, but as something small and crackling and absolutely _smoldering_ was pressed against his back, he couldn't help but scream in pain, his body thrashing.

"See, doctor? Simple, and yet, effective." The woman simpered as Fai shuddered and panted where he lay. The small burn on his back began to mend itself as his healing kicked in, giving him a small respite from the pain. Brushing her fingers against his skin, she continued. "And we don't even have to worry about leaving behind any scars."

"Indeed," the man agreed gleefully as Fai opened his eyes to shoot the man a dirty look. His anger turned to shock when he realized how similar the man was in appearance to Kyle Rondart. He had the same pale skin, the same brown eyes. Even his long black hair was pulled back in the same way as the doctor from Jade. If he didn't know any better, Fai would have thought it to be the same man, but that man had been the result of an experiment. Perhaps this was one of the originals? That line of thought didn't keep him occupied for long as he remembered his situation. His irritation and anger at his mistreatment returned twofold now that he knew the identity of one of his captors.

"Is this the way you treat all of your guests?" he said, managing to keep his tone light despite the severity of the situation as he pulled at his bonds once again in an attempt to weaken them. He hazarded a glance toward the woman, wondering if she was another copy, but nothing about her struck him as even vaguely familiar.

"Oh, good, it's capable of intelligent speech." The woman clasped her hands together in interest as she leaned over him. Her pale hair brushed over his exposed skin, sending an involuntary shudder down his spine as her heavy-lidded dark eyes raked up and down his body. "I wonder what else it's capable of."

"Any particular reason why I'm being referred to as an _it?_" he questioned, pulling on the shackles a little harder as he craned his neck off the platform and cast a look around. Kyle's lookalike was fiddling with something set out on a table a couple of feet away. Glass clinked against metal as Fai strained his ears to make out what he was up to.

They both ignored him as Kyle turned back around, pushing the table closer to the platform as the woman stepped back. From where he was lying, it was impossible for Fai to make out what was laid out on the table, but the doctor did grab a cotton swab from it before turning towards him. From the strong smell that wafted off of it, the mage guessed it had been dipped in some sort of alcohol. The man pushed down on the back of his head, forcefully pressing Fai's cheek against the metal table as he used the cotton to rub a patch of skin at the base of his neck, right on top of one of the ridges of his spine.

"What are you doing?" Fai grunted, struggling against the hand holding his head down, but with his limbs shackled, it wasn't of much use. Kyle didn't reply as he half-turned towards the table to discard the cotton and pick up something else that Fai couldn't quite make out.

"Initialize the laser scalpel," Kyle ordered to no one in particular.

_Laser Scalpel Initializing_, an automated voice announced. Fai heard the faint whir of something mechanical move into position above him.

"Wait a minute." Fai tugged at his bonds a little more insistently. "Can't we just talk about this firs-Argh!" He screamed as a sharp, burning sensation assaulted the skin on his back. The stench of burning flesh reached his nose as the laser cut through and cauterized his wound at the same time, heading downwards. Tears prickled his eyes as he felt the top of the wound seal shut, but before he could mend a single muscle, the scalpel was back to deepen the cut. He jerked and thrashed, biting down on his next scream as he focused his energy on trying to break free. Whatever it was that these people had in mind for him, he did _not_ want to let them finish with it. Worse, they probably had Syaoran, too. He had to get out and find the boy before he was subjected to something equally insane.

Despite his efforts to keep his cries contained, another scream escaped his lips as the doctor pulled his wound open wider, using something sharp and painful to keep the flesh peeled apart, exposing his spine. The hand holding his head down did not falter, despite all his struggling, and the bastard calmly conversed with the woman about the _weather_ of all things as he went about hurting him. The taste of iron (_his blood!)_ filled his mouth, a snarl forming in his throat when the doctor mercilessly assaulted the back of his neck.

A part of him wondered why he was still awake. Most men would have passed out from the pain long ago, but, most men would have ended up dead upon having their eye ripped out from its socket as well. His body kept trying to heal itself, but the laser scalpel and clips Kyle had used to keep the wound open were doing their job spectacularly. He could feel a cold, metallic _something _poke at his spine and his breath hitched. The doctor was poking at his spine!

And oh, God, it _hurt!_

Compared to the burning laser against his flesh, this pain was near freezing in its intensity, hundreds and hundreds of tiny, icy claws grabbing at individual nerves, forging connections that were not meant to be there, and it felt so wrong. But there was nothing he could do to stop it because he was forced down on a metal table, and he couldn't move, and it hurt, and he couldn't feel his arms or his legs or anything else in his body except for the pain, and he was vaguely aware of screaming as the taste of blood rose up in his throat.

And then, as soon as it had begun, the cold was gone. A heartbeat later, the burning vanished, and his flesh started knitting itself back together, but he knew something was still wrong because all his senses told him there was something inside him that was not supposed to be there. But he couldn't move to pull it out and his muscles were closing up over it and then... it was over.

He gasped for breath, his whole body shuddering as his senses began to spread outwards. When had he blacked out? His vision slowly returned and he noticed that there was blood pooled on the table around his head. His sense of hearing slowly focused itself on the world around him and he realized that the woman was congratulating the doctor on another successful procedure._ There had been others?_

He heard four distinctive clicks, the bonds on his wrists and ankles coming undone, but his body had no strength left to take advantage of his freedom. So he remained slumped where he was. This whole situation was turning out to be a horrible parody of the events in Acid Tokyo where he had been turned into a vampire against his will. And now, once again, something had been done to him without his consent, and he was too weak to do anything about it.

"Akira wants the specimen ready for primary trials no later than tonight," the woman said.

"That should not be much of a problem," the doctor replied. "It seems to be acclimating to the implant quite well. Would you like to test it out?"

"It looks exhausted," the woman said. "Is it wise to activate the implant so soon?"

"With healing like that," Kyle pointed to his back, "there's very little that could permanently damage it."

"Very well, then," she said, sounding a little too eager as he heard her footsteps approach him. Kyle handed her a small black device. It was a nearly-flat square, nondescript in appearance, but as soon as she pressed her thumb onto its surface, a surge of electricity traveled through Fai's spine. Everything seemed so far, far away suddenly as his arms pushed against the surface of the table and he sat upright. He could see the hunger in her gaze as she looked at him, but it felt as though he was looking at her through the eyes of someone else. When she spoke, her words filtered into his brain in a similar manner.

"224, do you copy?"

224? Was that what he was called? It had to be, because she was looking at him, expecting an answer. His gaze traveled down to his pale, long-fingered hands. His designation was 224. And he had been asked a question. Looking back up to meet her gaze, he tested out the words that he somehow knew were the right answer.

"224, reporting."

Slowly, the expectant look on the woman's face morphed into a smile.

"Perfect."

_**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the update. Don't forget to review. ;) ;) Oh and don't worry about the gore by the way, it wont get as bad as it did in Broken.**_


	4. Change

Akira watched the subject spar against five of their soldiers, managing to continue holding its own against them rather efficiently, just as he had for the past hour. She had been testing its limits in a manner quite similar to the _Magirius Vampirosa_ hybrid, but this specimen had not yet been fitted in with the neural implants. Instead of the implants, it was being kept in check by the standard shock collars. Most of the Unnaturals were fitted with those during their early months at the facility. As head of the Research & Development branch at The Company, she did not often personally test the subjects, but this particular pair had caught her attention.

So far, 224, the hybrid, was performing much better than expected. The implants had ensured perfect obedience**.** The vampire's strength and agility coupled with its powerful magic made for a rather fascinating test subject. It was far more robust than its wiry frame suggested. Those enchanting blue eyes and effeminate features made it pleasing enough to the eye. She had even heard rumors about the possibility of it being passed over to the Pleasure Program after Akira was done with it. However, despite its prettiness, Akira felt 224 would be far more suited as a field operative.

The younger apprentice- no doubt being groomed to be turned at some later stage in its life- was a whole other story. It appeared to be quite attached to the hybrid mentor and kept demanding that it be allowed to see 224. Akira had decided she would eventually grant that request, but she had deemed the brunette her special project. Once she was done testing its limits, she would let it meet 224, and then... and then she would study the young apprentice some more.

-0-

Syaoran paced inside his tiny prison, the room he'd been brought to at the end of the past three days. His hand strayed towards the metal collar clasped around his neck as he shot an irritated look towards the security camera in the corner. These people, whoever they were, had not only taken him and Fai prisoner but had had the nerve to label himself and his companion as their property. Apparently, the definition of human was a lot more limited in this world than any other they had visited.

The first day, he'd woken up in that tiny cell, unbound and unharmed except for that collar around his neck. Syaoran had tried to escape, calling on his magic to blast his way out but the collar had sent bolts of electricity surging through his system, leaving him in a panting heap on the floor for the next half hour.

He grudgingly admitted it was one effective way to keep him from using magic, for he had not tried it again since the shock.

Every day, a stoic pair of guards would come to fetch him from his room and lead him down a maze of pristine white hallways that smelled impossibly clean. At the end of his journey, a woman dressed in a professional-looking skirt and blouse hidden partially by a white lab coat waited for him. She was the only one who ever spoke to him in this place, but she was far from pleasant. Everything about her, from her impassive brown-eyed stare to the dark hair pulled back in a bun and the cold, clinical manner of speaking, screamed _wrong_. He had tried asking about Fai every chance he got, but she rarely answered his questions except to probe for further information about him and his master. The woman was apparently under the impression that he was Fai's apprentice, and that he was intended to be turned into a vampire in the future.

The first time she had let it out, he had tried to correct her that Fai was merely a friend and no such transformations awaited him, but she did not listen. From the way she addressed him and spoke about Fai, as though they were not even human beings, did little to endear her to Syaoran. But even if she had been perfectly polite and spoke to them both nicely, Syaoran knew he would strongly dislike, if not outright hate her for the way she forced him to demonstrate his skills. The collar did more than discourage him from using magic. It could also be used to coerce him into obeying her. So far, the list of tests included running on a treadmill at his top speed for over two hours, followed directly by demonstrating his magic in a controlled environment. He had even been pitted against as many as five trained soldiers that would have dwarfed even Kurogane in size.

And every time he did not perform up to her expected standards, the collar would zap him. The shock would be strong enough to knock him to the ground, leaving him panting for breath. And he would be expected to pick right up and continue trying to kill himself by doing whatever impossible tasks she assigned him. It might have been tolerable if, at the end of the day, he could have gotten some word about Fai from her, but the woman remained tight-lipped whenever he brought up the subject.

Even though it had only been three days, Syaoran was reaching the limit of his tolerance. Trapped as a test subject at some inhumane laboratory, he had no idea what was happening to Fai. He had no idea where Kurogane and Mokona were, or even if they were together. Worse still, he could not think of a single way to get himself out of the situation or get word out to his mentor to come to their aid. He could only hope that Fai was having better luck at dealing with this situation and had figured out some way to get them out because Syaoran wasn't sure how much longer he could last. And even though it had not yet begun, any day now the constant insistent tug which marked the limit of time he could spend in any given world would begin to attack him. And then, when he couldn't leave, the tug would resolve into a pounding headache, which would morph into a fever that would leave him comatose. He dared not try to think what would happen to him if it went any further than that.

He had to find some way to get out of there before it became a problem, but... he just couldn't think straight anymore. Not with the constant worry over his companions' safety and health niggling at him like a persistent itch and the threat of his imminent doom hanging over his head like a sword. Not to mention the fact that the female scientist was fully intent on forcing him well beyond his body's limits before the day had even begun. He wasn't quite sure when it happened, but somewhere between his pacing, worrying, and failed plotting, he fell asleep.

On the morning of his fourth day there, he was woken by the familiar tug that urged him to move to the next world. But with no Mokona around and no means to reach the dimension hopper, he merely curled up in a ball and dreaded the unpleasant day that awaited him.

Hours passed, and somewhere along the way as he waited miserably for his daily heralds to arrive, he fell back into an uneasy sleep that was filled with images of his companions all withering away into ashes. He shot upright, calling out Sakura's name as she crumbled into dust, when the door to his cell beeped. Wide-eyed and confused about his surroundings, he turned his head towards the door as it hissed and slid to one side. Surprisingly, it wasn't the pair of mute guards that came through the door, but Fai.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Syaoran smiled, clambering to his feet as he hurried over to the blond.

"Fai-san!" he exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried about you when..." He trailed off, stopping a couple feet away from the magician when he noticed blonde's militaristic posture. The magician's hair was cut, shorter even than the length it had been when Syaoran had first seen him at Yuuko's shop. "Fai-san," he said carefully, "are you all right?"

The blond did not reply, though he did take a step towards Syaoran.

"Fai-san?" he asked hesitantly, taking a step back when the magician began extending his claws. Before Syaoran could figure out what was happening, Fai had grabbed him by the arm and swung him around like a ragdoll. The wind was knocked right out of him as he slammed into the concrete wall. Syaoran shook his head, trying to get rid of the stars dancing across his vision as something warm and wet trickled down the back of his skull. His head throbbed as he struggled to sit up, confused as to why Fai would just attack him like that. Unless...the conclusion fled from his grasp when he caught sight of a pair of emotionless golden eyes staring down. He shivered, reminded of his clone's mismatched stare in Tokyo.

A piercing pain erupted from five different points in his chest. He choked on a scream as his gaze shot downwards. Fai's claws were sunk all the way into his ribs; he could feel their tips emerging out from the other side of his back. Blood bubbled up in his throat as his damaged lungs and heart began to give out. The edges of his vision began to turn to grey as the blond retracted his hand and let him fall to the ground. He was dimly aware of gasping for breath when something warm and wet was pressed to his lips. A tangy, iron-scented liquid trickled down his throat like fire, burning his insides as it worked its way through his body.

He thrashed, choking on the blood. _He's turning me..._ was the last coherent thought he had before the pain of the transformation became too much. He screamed.

-0-

"Quite a macabre transformation," Akira remarked to the doctor beside her, impassively watching the scene in holding cell 3k26. 224 had just impaled its young apprentice on its claws and then fed the latter its blood to trigger the process. "I hope you were taking notes, Doctor. I'm afraid I won't be allowing 224 to trigger any further transformations until I have tested its capabilities to my full satisfaction."

"Of course." The bespectacled man inclined his head. "Should I schedule its apprentice for implants as well? The new design seems to be working quite well for the hybrid."

"Do it." She nodded. "The Director would like me like to test them both in the field next week. We have received information that the Liberalists are planning an infiltration in sector 64-B."

"Downtown districts have always been more susceptible to their kind," the doctor agreed. "No one important lives there, but I suspect a few casualties might work out in our favor. Who knows, I might even be able to procure some new subjects."

"As long as nothing gets traced back to The Company," Akira said, turning her gaze back to the monitor. 224 watched its apprentice as the latter screamed. "I wonder... Doctor, do you think you can relinquish control back to 224 for a while? I want to see how it reacts to its apprentice's transformation."

-0-

Fai could remember each and every single moment his body had not been under his control. He could remember screaming and bashing mentally against the invisible barrier that kept him from controlling his own actions. Could remember the fear and horror he had felt upon receiving his latest orders. Could remember every single useless attempt he'd made to stop himself from carrying them out. But he was nothing but a prisoner inside his own body, helpless to watch as he struck Syaoran down, watch the shock and betrayal flash across his face as Fai pulled out his claws and forced his tainted blood down the boy's throat.

And then, as he was helplessly standing by and watching the boy scream and thrash, the strings controlling him vanished. The sudden control of his body was so unexpected, it disoriented him enough to send him crashing to his knees next to Syaoran.

"Syaoran-kun, I'm so sorry," he said, reaching out for the boy before thinking better of it and withdrawing his hand. Syaoran's back arched off the floor as he screamed and screamed and screamed. His limbs flailed, eyes wide open and flashing between their natural amber and the vampire gold. "I'm so, so sorry."

Syaoran appeared either not to have heard him or not to care about the meaningless apologies. One of his flailing limbs hit the floor with a distinctive snap as the bone broke, and Fai shot forward to grab the boy before he could harm himself further. The pain of the transformation seemed to have loaned him some hidden strength as he fought against Fai. His lengthening nails dug into the blonde's flesh, and Fai had to wonder if his own transformation had looked as painful as Syaoran's appeared to be.

It took a long while, but slowly Syaoran's wounds began to close up, blood still leaking from the holes but finally the boy had exhausted himself. His screams and struggles subsided to whimpers and weak twitches, though Fai dared not loosen his grip, fearing a relapse. However, when a sufficient amount of time had gone by, he let go, watching Syaoran for a repeat performance. There was none.

The last of his wounds- including the broken arm- healed up and tired golden eyes looked up at him.

"Syaoran-kun**.**" Fai was vaguely aware of the tears trailing down his cheeks as he looked at the boy**.** "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Syaoran rasped. His newly transformed body must not have been able to handle the exhaustion, for he passed out before Fai could answer.

Fai remembered halfheartedly wiping at the tears, but before he could do anything to make the brunette comfortable, his consciousness was thrown back in the invisible prison. Recalling his orders from before, he gave the boy one last look before getting back on his feet and heading back out the way he had come, his body once more a puppet for the unseen strings.

Behind him, the door slid closed with a decisive hiss.

**_A/N: So who hates Akira right now? So you know how Syaoran was turned into a vampire but you'll see some more of how he gets to the state Kurogane sees him in, next chapter. And Mokona will finally be showing up as well. So you'll be finding out what's going on with that little guy as well. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Drop me a review and tell me what you think._**


	5. Consequence

**2 Days Ago:**

Ryuuoh glowered at the guard that prodded his side with a stungun. With his hands shackled behind his back, he had no possible way of getting hold of the weapon. Grudgingly, he picked up the pace, but only enough to keep the guard happy. He wasn't about to tire himself out by jogging down the corridors when he could walk. He had been captured by the Company's soldiers during a raid in one of the downtown sectors last month. He wasn't a high ranking official in the Rebellion's chain of command. He had figured they'd just finish him off once they learned how worthless he was and dump his body in the sewers. That was the standard protocol for these guys.

So, he was a little surprised when after the initial questioning, instead of being led to a firing squad, he had instead been locked up in a cell and left alone. It was stranger still to have been provided with some sort of foul-tasting green sludge that served as food and a cup of water twice daily. Ryuuoh had been running reconnaissance for the Liberalists for three years, and the Company's current attitude towards him did not seem to add up. Unless, of course, they were keeping him around as a potential test subject. He shuddered at that thought, finally hurrying up when the guard nudged him again. He sent up a silent prayer that they would be leading him to the firing squad. Becoming a test subject for The Company was not at the top of his 'ways I want to die' list. He would've much preferred being torn to bits by hungry mountain wolves.

It came as a bit of a surprise to him when, in the end, he was made to stop before a nondescript door, the same as all the others lining that hallway, and the shackles were removed as one of the guards stepped forth to enter the passcode. The second kept his gun pressed against Ryuuoh's back. The lock beeped in confirmation before the door slid aside with a mechanical hiss. The guard prodded him forwards. Looking in from the entrance, Ryuuoh noticed that the cell was small, three-by-four feet in floor space, and stark white except for the odd dark brown splatters. And it was occupied by a trembling person sitting in the corner with his back facing the door.

The person must have noticed his arrival because he finally looked over his shoulder, a tiny wail escaping his lips before he turned back to the corner and started muttering something too fast for Ryuuoh to discern.

"Get on with it," grunted the guard behind him and pushed him inside just as his fellow guard grabbed Ryuuoh's arm and slashed the inside of his forearmwith a knife. The guard with the gun shoved him inside and closed the door. The cut wasn't deep enough to do any serious harm, but it did sting. The prisoner in the corner stiffened the minute the door was closed and Ryuuoh cautiously made to approach him.

"Stay away!" the boy, barely old enough to be considered a man, cried. Ryuuoh froze where he stood.

"Relax," he said,looking around the small room and noticing two cameras hanging from the corners. "I'm not going to hurt you," he promised, modulating his voice to sound as non-threatening as possible.

"H-Hurt me?" the prisoner repeated in disbelief. "You think... you think you're going to hurt me?" He laughed harshly. "You have no idea what you've walked into."

Ryuuoh felt his breathing hitch, a cold feeling of dread washing over him.

"You're bleeding." The prisoner gasped, going still for a moment before curling in on himself as he rocked back and forth. "Not again. Not again. Please, no," he moaned, keeping up the rocking motion as he did so.

"Hey," he said, worrying for the prisoner's sanity as he took another careful step in his direction, "are you okay?"

"I told you to stay away!" he barked so suddenly that Ryuuoh jumped back, "It's not safe. _I'm_ not safe. You should talk. Talking helps. It's distracting. Talking needs focus. Attention." His voice dropped to a mutter. Ryuuoh wasn't sure what they had done to this poor guy, but he could only pray he wouldn't end up like him. "Keep talking," the prisoner repeated, a hint of urgency to his tone now. "It's easier to ignore things that way. It helps with the bells, too," he murmured.

"Bells?" Ryuuoh repeated, puzzled. There was no other sound except for the unnamed prisoner talking.

"They ring from castle towers," he explained as though it should have been obvious. "They keep on ringing. Telling me to go. Telling me to leave. But I can't." He whimpered, clutching his head, "Before, it was only headaches. I could never hear the bells. But now... it's all I hear. It's time to go. Time to leave. But I'm trapped and there's no way out." Another chill went down Ryuuoh's spine. He took a step back, colliding with the metal door. What was going on here?

"Talk!" the prisoner growled.

"I-I..." He cleared his throat. Something was very wrong. What had they done to this guy? "I'm Ryuuoh. What's your name?"

"Syaoran…" he replied, keeping his back turned towards Ryuuoh.

"How did you get caught?"

"I don't know." Syaoran whimpered, shaking his head as he began muttering to himself again, "No, no, no. I'm stronger than this. I can't give in. I can't... Not again. Not again." His whispers became inaudible, leaving Ryuuoh confused and a little afraid. The silence hung between them for quite a while. And then, so quickly he barely caught it, Syaoran went rigid before finally turning around to face him. Ryuuoh's heart dropped into his stomach as the guards' reasons for bringing him to this cell became clear.

"You should have kept talking," Syaoran hissed, hungry cat-like eyes boring into his.

Ryuuoh's scream died before it could escape his lips. A pair of fangs pierced through the skin of his neck, easily ripping through muscle as warm blood gushed out of the injury. His hands shot upwards to pull the prisoner off, but Syaoran batted his hands away. Blood flowed down his skin in rivulets, though most of it was lapped up by the vampire feeding on him. His heart began to flutter and his struggles weakened. Ryuuoh wondered if 'death by vampire' had ever made it to his list of preferred methods to die.

As his world began to dim and darken, a part of him answered that, no, the thought had never crossed his mind.

-0-

The bells were too loud. Far, far too loud. As though he were standing right beneath them in the castle towers as they rang.

Syaoran should not have been able to hear anything past them. He knew he should not have, and yethe could hear everything else just fine. A little too well, in fact.

Ever since he had woken up after his transformation _(Fai __didn't__ really meant to do it. __He__ apologized, __didn't__ he?)_everything was clearer. Louder. Different.

He dropped the lifeless body of his prey._ (__Ryuuoh__. That was __Ryuuoh__!) _He wasn't sure why he couldn't control his hunger. Fai had been so in control of himself after his transformation. Why couldn't he control himself the same way? If Fai had taken to draining his prey like Syaoran had, the mage would have been dead within a week.

What was wrong with him?

He knew that they were people. Living, breathing human beings with lives and families and friends. And yet, whenever one was brought to his cell, all he could hear was the blood rushing through their veins. The hearts thrumming in their chests. The guards always made them bleed. Made it harder for him to resist. And the ringing bells made it harder to concentrate. The coppery scent always drowned him. In the end, no matter how hard he tried to resist, he became the monster that thought of those living, breathing people as nothing more than prey. _His_ prey.

And the blood. It always sang to him. Called out to him like a siren, adding to the cacophony of the bells. He had to leave. Get out. But he was he didn't know where any of the others were.

Was Kurogane okay? Was he trapped in this hell somewhere with him? Or was he out there somewhere, looking for them? Was Mokona with him? And Fai... something had happened to Fai. He would never have attacked him otherwise. Andwhy would he have turned him into a vampire? Fai had hated being turned. Resented Kurogane for forcing vampirism on him. He'd never do something like that to Syaoran.

Would he?

There had to be an explanation for his actions. Fai was not one to betray his trust like that. Fai was his friend. And he cared about him. There had to be something else.

But how was Syaoran supposed to deal with this?

His gaze traveled to the unmoving figure on the floor, and despite his best efforts, a sob spilled from his lips. Four people. He had murdered four people in two days. He staggered back, colliding with the cold wall, sliding down to the floor as he pulled up his knees and wrapped his arms around them. He was a murderer.

How did Kurogane handle the guilt? He had killed so many. That was why he'd been sent away in the first place. But he could function like a normal person. Why did the ninja not crumble under the weight of the guilt that was threatening to crush Syaoran? Didn't he have a heart?

But no, of course he had a heart. He had people he cared about. One couldn't care for someone if one lacked a heart. Syaoran had killed because he could not control the hunger.

Burying his face in his knees, he let the tears fall freely from his face as he tried not to imagine the sightless green eyes of his latest had no control. And he couldn't stop killing. He was turning into a monster. No. He _was_a monster.

Closing his eyes, he cried as the invisible bells urging him to leave rang incessantly.

-0-

Mokona did not like being lost. It also did not like being dirty or cold or hungry. But the dimension hopper was lost and dirty and cold and hungry as it wandered through the streets of the city. Mokona had jumped between dimensions like it had countless times before, but something had gone wrong this time, and it had landed in this new world far, far away from its friends.

At first Mokona did not worry because it trusted Fai and Syaoran and Kurogane to find Mokona. And then they could look around for clues to restore Syaoran and Sakura's bodies and leave together when the time came. But five days had gone by and Mokona was still on its own in this world. The dimension hopper did not like this new world at all. It was cold and it was always raining and the streets were filthy and no one cared about Mokona at all.

The first night there, Mokona had tried asking a pretty bakery owner for some food and a place to spend the night. She had only screamed and chased Mokona out with a broom, yelling for guards to capture the freaky talking unnatural-thing. Mokona did not like being called an unnatural-thing. Mokona was Mokona. And Mokona was not freaky at all. But when the big, scary men with guns and nets had arrived, Mokona had bounced away and hid behind discarded storage containers a fewstreets away. After that incident, it did not try asking anyone for help, staying hidden from sight and searching for the others on its own.

Mokona always stored away some food in the dimensional pocket where it stored everything else, so at first when it grew hungry, Mokona simply took some food from there. But yesterday, the dimension hopper had run out of all the food it had stored and now it felt miserable. Worse still, Mokona's earring had started to glow. Their time in that world was up and there was no sign of Syaoran or the others. Mokona had tried to take everyone away like it had in Shura and Shara but Mokona could not find Syaoran and Fai. Something blocked them from Mokona's magic. Mokona was too far away from Fai and Syaoran to take them away from that world. Something like this had never happened before.

Worry gnawed at its insides at that. What if Mokona could not find the others in time and Syaoran grew sick again? The price would begin to take its toll on Syaoran and then...bad things would happen to him.

As the dimension hopper peeked out from behind a garbage bin, looking at the people hurrying by in the street, it could only pray that they would all meet up soon. Nobody paid Mokona any attention as it approached the mouth of the alleyway. It had always liked attention, but for once Mokona was glad that no one noticed it.

Commercials and messages ran on loops on big holograms projected from skyscrapers. Thunder rumbled high up in the sky somewhere, and Mokona whimpered. It did not want to be wet on top of being cold and hungry.

Over the course of the previous five days, Mokona had drifted from its starting point to the seedier districts of the city. The skyscrapers became less polished in these parts, and shady shops sprung up at every corner. The sidewalks were almost always half-blocked by stalls selling knickknacks or various everyday items. At times, some stalls would sell food as well. Pretty much every stall had a holographic projection hovering above it, advertising its products, and people would sometimes stop to buy something. Mokona looked around, trying to ignore its hunger as it searched the crowd for a familiar face, ears drooping when nameless strangers hurried by without sparing the strange white-furred creature any mind.

Stubby paws dragging, Mokona stuck close to the side of the sidewalk, not wanting to be stepped on as it trudged along. The delicious aroma of baked cinnamon buns wafted down to Mokona from one stall as the dimension hopper passed by it, freezing the creature in its steps. Turning around slowly, it eyed the stand, loaded to the brim with food. Looking around, Mokona wondered if maybe it could get away with swiping one of the buns for itself. Would the stall-owner, a port-bellied man in his early fifties by the looks of it, call the scary guards to capture Mokona?

An earth-jarring bout of thunder rumbled overhead, startling the man enough to make him knock one of the buns to the ground. Grumbling to himself, man bent down to pick it up, then noticed the dirt sticking to one side of the bread. With an exasperated huff, the man threw it over his shoulder towards a nearby alley. Without wasting another second, Mokona darted after the food, hoping it could get to it before an alley cat claimed the bun for itself. Luckily enough, the bun hadn't rolled too deep into the passageway, so Mokona managed to grab it. Breathing in the delicious scent, Mokona sighed in gratitude, gobbling it up in less than a minute.

Though it had not been enough to completely fill Mokona up, the dimension hopper felt just a little better after eating. Comforted by the food, Mokona once again head back out into the streets, resuming its search.

**_A/N: I hope that answers everyone's questions about what Mokona has been up to up until this point. Ryuuoh is dead and Syaoran is losing his mind. Since he can't really die or fall into a coma now that he's a vampire, the consequences of staying in Cavahall have become different then when he tried to stay in Clow. Magic works in mysterious ways after all. ;) ;) You guys have been wondering about what The Company does and why its hunts down the Unnaturals and stuff. I've been asked that question a lot lately so, next chapter, you get your answers. Keep an eye out for the update. And don't forget to drop me a review with your comments. I love hearing what you think. _**


	6. Warning

**Present:**

Ryanban fiddled with his tie as he waited for the lift to arrive. Rain splattered against the windows, trailing down the glass in rivulets as thunder rolled across the heavens. Despite the air-conditioning, sweat beaded his brow as he thought about the summons he had just received. The Director had asked him to come up to her office. He grit his teeth, jabbing the elevator button as his mind came up with various scenarios to explain why she might have done so. The only thing he could think of in the end was the fiasco that had been the raid on sector 64-B

The lift arrived and he stepped inside, automatically pressing the button marked L3, short for Level 3. L3 held the offices for Sales and Procurement of Unnaturals. This level was also where the Board of Directors and other senior members of The Company's chain of command sat. Ryanban was the head of Security. His office was on L4, one level below L3 owing to the fact that he had to deal with the Departments for Public Relations and Marketing, which were also on L4.

Digging out a handkerchief from the inner pocket of his jacket, he wiped the sweat off his forehead and shoved the cloth back in his jacket when the lift stopped and the doors parted with a soft 'ding'. He barely glanced at The Company's holographic logo—a black and white interwoven cursive TC –that was proudly displayed in the lobby as he hurried towards his destination. Dread twisted his stomach into knots, but he knew better than to keep The Director waiting. As beautiful as she might be, Director Bia was not a patient woman, as many employees had learned the hard way. Pausing outside her door, he took in a breath to steel his nerves before giving a firm knock.

"Come in."

"You wanted to see me?" he said as he stepped inside.

"Ah, Ryanban, yes. Come in, come in." Director Bia smiled, beckoning him with her left hand as she used her right to flick through a report. "Take a seat. I'll be with you in a moment."

Ryanban walked over and sat down, the soft leather-covered cushions nearly swallowing his heavy frame. Resisting the urge to fidget, he tried to make out what the subject of the report was, as the Director continued reading from her holographic screen. His heart took a plunge when he realized that the report covered the latest raid. He clenched his fists in his lap as Bia's smile morphed into a cruel smirk. She had probably already read the report before she called for him. This was all just for show. After all, the bitch liked watching people squirm. And judging from the way her cold eyes glittered, she was enjoying herself even then.

Outside, thunder crashed, rattling the floor to ceiling window behind the Director's desk. Ryanban went rigid when the director finally collapsed the report back into her desktop with a soft chuckle. Putting on a smile, she turned her attention towards him.

"Mr. Ryanban," she said pleasantly. "Just the man I wanted to see. Would you like some tea? Or coffee, perhaps? I like mine black. I feel like I need the pick-me-up after having to deal with all these issues. Just between you and me, it's enough to give me a migraine."Keeping up the pleasant façade, she leaned over her desk and buzzed her secretary, asking for coffee to be sent in. Ryanban watched as she leaned back in her chair, looking at him with an amused smile.

"How have you been?" she asked, "Dealing with all those rabid creatures must be quite hectic, I imagine."

Ryanban held his tongue, knowing she was not expecting an answer.

"An interesting thing happened to me yesterday," she continued. "I came across a nurse rolling one of the Unnaturals down to the Emergency Op. One of our latest acquisitions, if I remember correctly." Ryanban knew full well that she knew perfectly when the Unnatural in question had been procured. "Poor thing had rejected the implant right in the middle of a raid. I had to order an extraction to save its life." She paused when the secretary walked in with the coffee. Bia thanked the woman as she set it down on the table, waiting until the secretary had disappeared before picking up the mug. "Tell me, Mr. Ryanban: You deal with The Company security for all departments, correct?"

"Yes, Director Bia," he replied, wondering if she could hear the nervousness in his voice.

"Good, then you must know the Unnatural Classes by heart, yes?"

"I do."

"Perfect." She smiled, taking a sip from her coffee. "Could you please define them for me?"

"Director?" was all he could say in his confusion. Why wasn't she threatening him over the raid and what a failure it had been?

"Define them for me," she repeated.

"The Unnatural breeds are divided into five classes," he said, pushing away the confusion. "_Elementals_ are the most common type, with no visually distinguishing features. They possess a low level of magic that allows them to manipulate their surroundings according to their powers. _Lupus_ and _Vampirosa_ are the next two common types, identified by their amber eyes and fangs respectively." He paused for a moment, looking at the Director for any hints of approval. She nodded, wordlessly telling him to continue as she sipped at her coffee.

"_Magirius_ are Unnaturals with more powerful magic then the _Elementals_, which makes them rarer than the other three types. Their stronger magic exudes an aura around them that can be picked up on our scanners."

"And the last class, Mr. Ryanban? What about them?"

Ryanban gulped as he saw the direction she was taking with this conversation. Judging from the smirk she shot at him, she knew that he knew.

"I'm waiting," she prompted.

"The last class is the _Hybrids,_" he said, cursing the woman to hell as he fought to keep his voice level. "They are the rarest type of them all."

"Indeed." She nodded. "Akira is one of our most brilliant researchers at Research and Development, and even she has had very limited success at creating a good specimen until very recently. Sometime last week, if I'm not mistaken."

Ryanban nodded. Nearly everyone had heard about 543. The very first successful _Magirius Vampirosa_ created at The Company. A young _Magirius _specimen that had been captured with its _Hybrid_ mentor in the reception area, later transformed by Akira somehow. He was still a little unclear on the details, but word was she had gotten the mentor to do it.

"What is that we do over here, Mr. Ryanban?"

Her sudden subject change threw him off for a moment, but he managed to gather himself quickly. "We secure the Unnaturals plaguing our world and assign them proper roles in our society as workers and entertainers."

"Correct." She nodded, carefully setting the mug on her table as she sat up straight. "Can you explain to me then, _why_ you authorized the dispatch of 224 and 543 in yesterday's raid? Sector 64-B was infiltrated by Liberalists, and you sent out two _untested_ _Hybrids_ into the field without even so much as consulting me on the matter." Her voice grew cold as looked him in the eye. "Explain to me what made you _think_ it would be smart to send those creatures out into such an unstable environment? Did you have any proof that they could handle such high levels of stress? According to the reports I have been provided with, 543 was showing signs of instability ever since its transformation. So, Mr. Ryanban, what do you have to say in your defense?"

Ryanban cleared his throat, finding it hard to speak past the invisible stone lodged in his windpipe.

"I don't like repeating myself, Mr. Ryanban," she reminded him.

"Akira told me you had given your approval for the raid, Director," he replied.

"And you did not see it fit to confirm this with me?" Bia quirked a brow.

Having nothing to say to that, he remained quiet. He should have known Akira had lied, but she had charmed her way into getting his go-ahead and launched the raid.

"I know that you can be a little weak-willed when it comes to a pretty face." Bia smirked, leaning back in her seat as she reopened the report."You are good at what you do, Ryanban, which is why I am usually willing to overlook your little mistakes. Akira is a brilliant researcher and has revolutionized the way we control the creatures inside these towers. She knows that talent provides her with some immunity around here, but you, unfortunately, have nothing of that sort."

"Director Bia, give me a chance to explain," he said, having nothing else to say.

"Oh? I doubt anything you have to say would be a good enough explanation for the fuck up that happened in yesterday's raid. One Hybrid completely rejected the implants and the other went MIA. I wouldn't be surprised if those Liberalists have it in one of their cages right now, trying to _save _it. Do you have anything that can convince me to overlook this?"

Ryanban said nothing, feeling sweat drench the back of his shirt as the Director brought up certain parts of the report. One of those sections detailed the number of operatives they had lost at the hands of the unstable subject 543 when it had turned on them. Another was an excerpt from Akira's report stating that another attempt at injecting 224 with new implants would prove fatal. Something he knew Bia would never risk now that they had lost 543.

"Well, 224 can no longer be turned into a field operative," Director Bia said, as though she had dismissed her earlier demands for an explanation. "I suppose it will have to be relocated to a different department now." She pulled up a picture of the subject, scrutinizing it closely for a long time before turning her gaze towards Ryanban. "It's quite easy on the eyes. Maybe some time with Naba will prepare it for the Pleasure Program." Without waiting for a response, she nodded to herself. "Yes. I think that would work wonderfully. You're dismissed, Mr. Ryanban."

Knowing better than to tempt fate by inquiring about his punishment, he got to his feet and hurried towards the door.

"Oh, and Mr. Ryanban?" she called out as he reached the door. He froze. "Be very careful. I hear a rabid _Vampirosa_ is loose on L4. It would be a shame if the head of security were to have an _accident." _

Ryanban nearly ran out of her office, trying to put as much distance between himself and his dangerous superior as possible.

-0-

Kurogane woke with a groan, his torso throbbing as awareness filled his mind. The pulse monitor beeped somewhere nearby, letting him know his location even before he had opened his eyes. Breathing deeply, he was relieved to notice that the breathing tube had been removed from his throat. It still hurt to breathe, but it felt good to do it with his own power. Exhaling, he opened his eyes, wincing at the sudden brightness. Blinking rapidly, he turned his head. The sound of shuffling feet whispered across the floor nearby.

"Oh good, you're awake," said a man he'd never seen before. "Certainly slept like a princess, I'd say."

"Where am I?" he croaked, the insides of his throat scraping together like sandpaper.

"Up until two hours ago," the man replied as he appeared at his side with a glass of water, "you were in the infirmary under dear Masooma's watchful eye. _Now_ you're in the lab under my not-so-watchful eye. Good news, by the way: You're one-hundred percent Implant-free." He winked, helping Kurogane sit up. Blood rushed to his head, and Kurogane nearly blanked out for a moment. His left shoulder felt strangely light. Empty. It was almost as though his arm was gone. Even as the man pressed the glass into his hand, Kurogane glanced towards his shoulder. White bandages peeked out from under his shirt, the left sleeve hanging limply where his metal arm should have been.

The man must have noticed Kurogane's expression because he began to speak."Drink up, Steel. I had to take off your arm for repairs. You've been quite busy during your time away, I noticed." The man took the empty glass from his hand, helping him lie back down before turning to put it away. "Bet you've got one hell of a story to tell us. I had no idea the Piffle Princess guys were still producing prosthetics. How'd you get your hands on this?"

"I'm not who you think I am," he grunted, watching the man as he fiddled around with Kurogane's arm on a workbench.

"Huh?" Confusion clouded the man's face for a moment as he looked up, dark hair falling into his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not Steel," he replied, making note of the strange, half-inch metal plates protruding from the man's temples.

The man blinked a couple of times, his mouth opening and closing as he floundered for words. Kurogane noticed for the first time that, although the man seemed to be looking at him, his eyes were missing a spark. Was he blind?

"Oh." The man drew out the sound as he nodded, chuckling as he resumed his work. "Ha ha, very funny, Steel. You got me."

"I'm not joking," Kurogane said, trying to bite back the irritation that welled up inside him. "I'm not Steel."

"Oh yeah?" The man gave him a wry grin. "Who are you then?"

"My name is Kurogane," he replied. "And this Steel you and your friends are confusing me with—he's dead."

The smile slid of the man's face, his features morphing into a scowl as seconds ticked by. "All right, if this is your idea of a joke," he said, "then it's about time you quit. It's not funny anymore."

"And I told you, I'm not joking."

"Shit," the man swore explosively. "_Shit!_ Damn it, Steel, do you have any idea what it would do to Tomoyo if she heard you say that? Haven't you put us through enough with the whole disappearing act you pulled in the middle of a _raid_?"

"I'm telling you I'm not-"Kurogane growled, but his words were cut off when the blind man slammed his tools on the metal tabletop.

"Quit saying that!" he yelled as he stalked around the table to loom over Kurogane. "You've said _enough_! After all that you've done, pretending to be dead for six months. And then showing up out of nowhere and getting shot enough times to drop dead all over again! Do you think it was easy for any of us, easy for _Tomoyo_, to drag your bleeding ass back here? To watch you nearly slip away for a second time?!"

Kurogane stayed quiet. The man looked ready to strangle him, and the ninja wasn't sure if he could defend himself in his weakened state. The silence dragged on between them, punctuated only by the other man's ragged breathing and the beeping of the pulse-monitor. The man continued staring down at him with his eerily blank eyes as horrified realization replaced his anger.

"No," he gasped, staggering away from Kurogane, shaking his head in denial. "No," he repeated, hurrying over to his workspace and flicking his fingers over its surface in a series of jerky movements. Holographic projections filled with the indiscernible language of Cavahall flared up to life in the space that separated them. The man's fingers danced between panels, bringing up one holograph before pulling up something else, all the while keeping up a constant mantra of denial. Several times, his sightless gaze flickered towards Kurogane before returning to the images. He wondered how a man who appeared to be blind could even see the hovering images before him, but his musings were cut short when the man sent the images slamming back into the platform with a violent snap.

"Fuck," he swore under his breath, reaching out for a short-range communication device that Kurogane had spotted in several of the bars in Cavahall. Turning it on, he cast a final, disbelieving glance towards Kurogane as a female voice crackled through the speakers.

"Yes?"

"It's Nixon," he said."Find Tomoyo and bring her down to the lab with you."

"Is everything okay over there?" Masooma asked after a beat. "Is it Steel? Is he okay?"

"Just find Tomoyo and get here," Nixon said through gritted teeth.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Masooma, just find her and bring her here," he snapped, turning off the device before she could reply. Nixon shot Kurogane a stare the ninja couldn't quite decipher. Turning away, he began to pace, having apparently decided to ignore him completely until the women arrived. As seconds ticked by, Kurogane wondered if he should have just kept the truth to himself for the time being.

**_A/N: And there you have it. The Company's purpose explained. I'll elaborate more on that at a later point but I hope the explanation shed some light on why it exists at least. If not, feel free to ask questions so that I know what else to include next time. _**

**_Do you guys think Kurogane shouldn't have told them the truth just yet? What will Tomoyo's reaction to Kurogane's revelation. And what will happen to Fai in the new program? I'd love to hear your thoughts so don't forget to review._**


	7. Hopeless

Fai was beginning to grow sick of the color white, and having grown up in a world covered in snow, that was saying something. At least in Ceres, he'd had freedom of movement. Here in this unnamed world, trapped in a tiny cage, Fai decided that he abhorred the color.

A ghost of an itch formed at the base of his neck, deep within the muscles, in a place he couldn't reach without clawing himself open. Hissing in irritation, he reached up to scratch at his skin anyway. His short nails scraped against smooth, unmarked flesh, and yet the itch persisted. Sighing, he dropped his hand, once again looking around the tiny four-by-four foot enclosure. It barely had enough room for him to crouch without hitting his head, let alone stand. And all around him, as far as he could see beyond the bars, it was nothing but an endless expanse of white.

Closing his eyes, he let his head rest against the cold, metal bars, feeling the thrum of the familiar _something_ that charged the metal. The energy that pulsed through his cage had left him feeling not quite weakened, but somehow incomplete. As though a vital part of him had completely vanished. It was an unsettling feeling, but there wasn't much he could do against it. He had spent an entire week as a mindless drone under the influence of whatever his captors had stuck inside him. And during that week, he had willingly given them enough knowledge about his skills to make escape a very difficult task for himself. It was a wonder he had managed to reject thing's influence on him at all.

_What does it matter now? The damage has already been done, _a voice hissed viciously at him as his thoughts drifted back to all he had done. It didn't matter that he hadn't been a willing participant in any of it, because _he_ had still done it._ You should have been stronger. You should have fought harder. Stopped before your claws ripped through Syaoran. _

Syaoran's face, frozen in shock, flashed through Fai's mind. He shuddered as he remembered the brunette's warm blood sliding down his fingers. _You did that to him, _the voice hissed again. Shaking his head, he opened his eyes. Blank, featureless white met his gaze, but now he forced himself to stare at it. It was better than seeing Syaoran's betrayed look, the accusation in those eyes, that single, whispered question.

He could have fought back earlier. He could have tried to stop them from forcing his hand into turning Syaoran. He had trained extensively to protect his mind against possession spells in Celes. What these people had done to him wasn't all that different. And yet, he'd been led around by his captors like a dog on a leash, had jumped when they told him to, rolled over when they said so, had even killed at their command. And worst of all, he'd cursed Syaoran to live out the rest of his life as a vampire.

Fai had been lucky he'd been forced into making Kurogane his only prey when he'd been turned. The appeal of the ninja's blood had been reduced by his hatred of the man at that time, making it easier for him to control his hunger. And then by the time the clone had returned his magic and freed him from the blood-bond, Fai had learned enough self-control to avoid being tempted by the blood of others. He had a wider choice of prey now, but Fai could control himself around humans more easily, even if their blood still sang to him.

_Syaoran never got that chance, _the voice reminded him. _He doesn't know why you turned on him. He won't even be able to control himself. And he has no one there to help him through it. _

Sighing again, Fai closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing in an attempt to drown out the voice. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

He froze, eyes snapping open as he picked up traces of something strange in the atmosphere. Barely there, yet distinct enough to leave a mark. He breathed in, letting the air fill up his lungs as he tried to identify the source. Whatever it was, it left a faint metallic aftertaste in his mouth.

Concentrating harder, he could almost feel the metallic compound diffuse within his blood with the oxygen his lungs pulled out of the air. And as he began to look closer, Fai could feel his magic attack the foreign substance. Like antibodies within the blood, his magic tried to defend his body from it. His magic fizzled out just as it destroyed the alien compound. But by then he'd drawn in another breath, and his magic had begun the war all over again. Frowning, Fai tried to summon his magic, feeling the burn within his blood that had come into existence every single time he had tried to use a spell since regaining control of his body and mind.

Had they put something in the air to keep him from using magic? In all his travels, he had never heard of something like that. But it was possible they had come up with something that could inhibit magic from functioning at all, unlike the wards that he was familiar with that merely absorbed the magic before it could take a physical shape. Wards like those could be overcome if the mage casting the spell was stronger than the mage that had cast the wards. Like what had happened in Rekourt; Fai's spell had countered the library's wards, allowing Mokona to transport them out of that world. Could a similar approach work here? Maybe he could simply overpower whatever it was in the air. He was, after all, much stronger than the average magician.

Holding his breath, he decided to give it a try. Fai called on his magic, gritting his teeth when the burn in his blood intensified. Ignoring the discomfort, he focused his attention on the sliver of blue that slowly began appearing in his mind's eye. He could picture itflowing sluggishly through his body, struggling against the opposition offered by the alien substance within his blood. A pressurized burn began to emanate from the metal bracelets they had fit around his wrists. When Fai did not relent, blisters began to form wherever the metal touched, and his head spun as the urge to breathe became too much for him to ignore.

His magic slipped from his grasp when Fai finally let up with a gasp. His skin itched as his vampire healing fixed the blisters. Fai fought back several colorful curses, his temper flaring in the face of his frustration. The last time he had seen Syaoran had been during that ill-fated raid, and the boy had been out of control. And something told him it was not just because of the sudden transition into a vampire. He had looked feverish and sick, something a vampire simply could not be. Unless it _wasn't_ a normal sickness. It had been over a week since they had come here.

What if... What if Syaoran had already overstayed his welcome in that world? His healing wouldn't let him slip into a coma like the last time they'd tried that. But even with the healing working in his favor, the price must have been taking its toll on the brunette somehow. And just how long would Syaoran be able to withstand the effects of two opposing forces waging war within his body? He had to find some way to get them out of there.

If_ there is a way left._ _Your magic is useless in this place._

-0-

He was burning.

He was freezing.

His head hurt like something was drilling holes through his skull, but for the first time in a long time he could hear nothing but the sound of his own breath. Blinking slowly, he tried to sit up, realizing he couldn't quite move his hands to support his weight. His shoulders were curled inwards at an awkward angle, and his arms were wrapped around his torso in a pale imitation of hug. Something tied the long sleeves of the shirt he wore behind his back. Pain stabbed up and down the length of his body when he tried to tug the bindings loose. Moaning against the unpleasant sensation, he stopped, raising his head to look at himself.

The shirt he had thought he had been wearing turned out to be an elaborate patchwork of straps and buckles that kept his arms firmly in place. Groaning, he let his head drop back on the lumpy pillow he'd been sleeping on, realizing there was no way he could get out of a straitjacket on his own. He tried to think back on how he had ended up in such a precarious position. He had been with Fai, separated from Kurogane and Mokona upon their landing. He remembered running, but every time he tried to think further back, the pounding in his head intensified. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out as he forced himself to remember past the blocks on his memory.

He felt as though he was on fire again, a distant bell tolling in sync with his throbbing head. His eyes watered as he kept pushing himself. He had been captured, but... what had become of Fai? As if everything else had not been enough, an itch began to develop at the base of his neck. Pulses of _something_ shot through his spine and suddenly he was back to freezing. A hole formed in the pit of his stomach.

"Do not force yourself." A cool hand pressed against his forehead. He squinted up through watering eyes, a curtain of blond hair brushing against his cheek as he tried to make out the features of the person leaning over him.

"F-Fai-san?" he croaked, surprised at the hoarseness of his voice as though he had been screaming for hours and hours. Something cold pressed against his lips, spilling into his mouth as the blond supported his head. It slid down his throat, soothing an ache he had not even been aware of having been there, his hunger subsiding. Breathing through his nose, he gulped down the liquid, surprised at the sharp tangy scent it carried. What—was that _blood?_

He gasped, immediately regretting it when he began choking on the drink. Spots of black danced across his vision even as the container of blood was removed from his lips. A firm hand pulled him into a sitting position, thumping his back a couple of times to help clear his airways.

"Easy, little one," said the person that had just fed him _blood_, supporting his weight with one hand. Syaoran belatedly realized that the voice was too soft, too _feminine_ to belong to Fai. Blinking away the spots, he focused his gaze on the face hovering above him. The woman holding him up smiled beatifically as she looked back. The corners of her blue eyes crinkled, lending her otherwise aristocratic features a softer edge. She brushed back a stray strand of her wavy hair before maneuvering Syaoran into a proper sitting position.

Syaoran stared.

He knew he had seen that face somewhere before, though it took him longer than it should have to remember the place. What was _wrong_ with him?

"Your fever has let up a little." The woman's smile widened, and Syaoran caught a hint of something sharp poking out from underneath her lips. "That means the new medicine is working."

"I've been sick," he said, his question coming out as more of a statement.

"Gravely." The woman nodded. She picked up a rusted metal container, bringing it to his lips once more. Knowing what the contents were, he kept his mouth pressed into a thin line, ignoring the rumbling of his stomach. Confusion made his head spin. Why would he react this way to blood?

_Fai's claws ripped through his chest. His damaged heart struggled to beat as the magician pulled them back, impassively watching Syaoran gasp for breath before slitting open his wrist._

_Burning poison slid down his throat, scorching everything in its path and-_

A scream tore free of his throat, the pounding in his head multiplying to the intensity of a stampede of elephants trampling his skull. Image after image flashed through his eyes, his mind barely comprehending as his body began to tremble. His thrashed within the confines of his jacket, shaking his head as he tried to put some distance between himself and... whatever _this_ was. It didn't make any sense. Why would... why would Fai attack him like that? And then force him to-

"Calm _down_, little one." He was pulled back from the ocean of memories as she shook him. "Do not force your memories."

"Why?" he gasped, the pain ebbing as the memories slipped from his grasp. Suddenly, his most pressing concern was the prickle at the back of his neck, the pins and needles stabbing his tied arms, and the alternating waves of hot and cold assaulting his body. "Who are you?" he asked, wanting to know for sure if this was indeed who he thought it was.

"My name is Emeraude," she replied, confirming his suspicions. The golden-haired woman put the metal container away. "You have been very ill these past couple of days. The medicine I gave you suppresses your memories. Whatever it was that The Company did to you…" She frowned, brushing hair out of his eyes in a motherly gesture."…it left some strong imprints on your mind. I suspect the implants are affecting you in ways unprecedented before now. I wish I could remove them, but…" Her expression grew forlorn. "They are too deeply embedded to risk extraction without damaging your spine."

"Is that what itches?" he asked, furrowing his brows when, despite not understanding half of what she'd said, her explanation seemed to make complete sense. How was that possible? Did he already know this and couldn't remember because of his suppressed memories? "And why am I tied up?"

"The itch is, I presume, the inhibitors I placed keeping the Implants from driving you mad," Emeraude said, folding her hands in her lap. "You were quite adamant on ripping yourself open to extract the implants in your delirium. The ties are there to keep you from harming yourself."

"Where-" He paused to wet his lips, his mouth dry. He'd tried to hurt himself? He couldn't recall having done anything of that sort. He flinched at the toll of a bell, his head screaming at the sound, but it was gone the very next second when he remembered the woman's warning and stopped forcing himself to remember. "Where am I?" Fai's face flashed through his mind, the bell tolling louder this time. He flinched again but the sound faded away once more. "Fai-san!" he exclaimed. "I was with Fai-san. Is he okay? Is he with you?"

"Fai-san. You called me by that name before."Emeraude's expression darkened. "Is that the name of your creator?"

"My _what?_"

"The vampire who turned you," she clarified.

"What?" he half-laughed. "I'm not-" His breath hitched, eyes widening as another set of memories crashed into him.

_Burning poison slid down his throat, scorching everything in its path. His body ablaze, every fiber of his being on fire. His throat tearing itself out, wails spilling unbidden from his lips as every cell in his body was simultaneously ripped apart and put back together in a way it was never meant to be._

"A vampire…" he choked, the world spinning on its axis. He looked at Emeraude in disbelief. "I'm a vampire…" He shook his head, hoping to dislodge the realization from his mind. It was ridiculous. He couldn't be a vampire. Why would Fai turn him anyway? Spots of darkness danced across his vision, his breath coming in short gasps as more memories returned.

_Blood flowing down his fingers, caking around his mouth, staining his clothes. Lifeless green eyes stared into nothing. Ryuuoh!_

Bile rose in his throat as he threw himself to one side, throwing up on the floor beside his cot. Blood and saliva and stomach fluids splattered on the floor as he heaved, choking on his own sickness. Emeraude rubbed soothing circles on his back as he lay on his side, trembling. His stomach twisted, and he threw up some more.

"Easy, little one," Emeraude murmured, petting his head like one might a frightened child as his stomach ran out of fluid. He heaved, gasping for breath as tears slipped down his face, mingling with the saliva hanging from his chin. "Take it easy. Transition is never an easy thing to deal with for most newborns."

"No…" he groaned. Drawing his knees closer to his chest, he curled into a ball, shaking his head harder to dispel the memory of his victim. "Please, no…" He had _killed_ people.

The bells tolled now in a never-ending cacophony. The crescendo nearly drove Syaoran mad, drowning out Emeraude's voice as she spoke to him. A cry erupted from his lips as the memories resurfaced. His victims appeared in the empty space before him, staring accusingly at him with hollow eyes. He shook harder, curling in on himself even more when they shuffled towards him.

_Monster._

"No…"

_Murderer._

Syaoran screamed as sanity was wrenched from his grasp once more.

**_A/N: Oh how I love putting these guys in hopeless situations. Syaoran is going insane and Fai is trapped in a cage unable to use his magic. I usually don't go with this logic for my fics but in case of Lillies, when Fai regained his magic from the clone in the manga, his dependence on Kurogane's blood for survival was what ended. His body did not reject the vampire-half of him completely. He's still a vampire but now, he can drink from a bigger variety of prey if he wants to. But he can survive without drinking blood as well. The only advantage he gets from blood is that he becomes stronger and faster. I thought I should mention this now because it will be important later on. ;)_**


	8. Discovery

Kurogane's stomach twisted as he watched Nixon pace on the other side of the work table. Kurogane's metal arm was laid neatly on top of it, gleaming as it reflected the light being cast from above. What was left of the artificial skin covering it, was visible in the trash can near the door. It must have been damaged beyond salvation during the raid. His attention was drawn back to the blind man as he stopped walking, staring into space for a few seconds before heading back to the work table.

Still ignoring the ninja, Nixon pulled up the holographic images from a few minutes before. Kurogane watched as he opened several new screens, fingers flicking through the air with practiced ease. Lines of that world's senseless language had appeared on several of them when the door opened with a low creak, and Masooma and Tomoyo stepped inside.

"Did you find something?" Tomoyo asked, glancing at Kurogane for a fraction of a second before she hurried over to the blind man. Masooma, on the other hand, gave him a bright smile as she headed over to his side.

"It's not what I found," Nixon said as Masooma busied herself with unbuttoning the top of Kurogane's shirt. "It's what I _didn't _find."

"What do you mean?" Masooma asked, swatting at Kurogane's hand when he tried to stop her from pulling off his shirt. "Let me check your bandages," she added. His gaze flickered to Tomoyo, but she was watching Nixon fiddle around with the holo-screens.

"Do you still have Steel's blood analysis stored from before the raid?" Nixon asked. Kurogane saw Tomoyo frown at the question. She shot another look towards him, but upon noticing him watching her, quickly looked away. Kurogane decided to take Nixon's cue for the time being. He wasn't sure what to make of Tomoyo. Judging from what the blind man had told him, it would not be wise to just blurt out the truth at her. She had been severely affected by Steel's disappearance. He had no doubt his counterpart was already dead, and Tomoyo would be hurt to find out about it. But he wanted to at least spare her as much pain as possible. If that meant waiting for someone she knew and trusted to take the lead, then that was what he would do.

"It's in the medical drive," Masooma said in response to Nixon's question, giving Kurogane a comforting smile as she patted his bandages. Leaving him to wrestle the buttons back in their holes, she turned her attention to Nixon. "Why do you ask?"

"Did you compare it with his current blood analysis yet?"

"I haven't had the chance," she said, her frown deepening. "I was looking at the results when you sent me looking for Tomoyo."

Kurogane could see worry replace Tomoyo's uncaring, cold façade as she looked at him again. "Is something wrong with Steel?" she asked Nixon. "Does he have any implants?"

"No." Nixon shook his head.

"Good," she breathed, and Kurogane watched the worry melt away from her face as she gave a hint of a smile.

"That's not all though." Nixon continued. Kurogane nearly cursed when those words made her smile vanish. Even if she wasn't his Tomoyo, he still wanted to keep that smile on her face. "I decided to check him for nanites, tracers, regenerators. You know, the like." Nixon waited for Tomoyo's approval to carry on.

"What do the scans say?" Masooma prompted instead as she made her way over to the table, pulling a couple of holographic screens towards her as she went.

"He's clean," Nixon replied gravely.

"That's a good thing," the medic said as she began pulling up files on the holo-screen. Kurogane wondered if she was pulling up the blood work analysis that Nixon had just mentioned. "Why do you sound like it's his funeral?"

"He's _clean,"_ Nixon repeated, emphasizing the second word as though it made all the difference in the world. For all Kurogane knew, maybe it did. He watched Tomoyo for her reaction, unable to help but notice how she differed from the Tomoyo he had known. From the subtleties in the way she held herself to the way she moved and the aura she exuded, this Tomoyo was as far as she could be from the Tsukiyomi as possible. The princess of Nihon was all about grace and gentleness wrapped up in a bundle of calm. This Tomoyo, however, seemed to behave as though there was a fire inside her, replacing all the calm and compassion inherent to every version of Tomoyo he had met during his journey so far. There was fierceness to her that seemed almost alien behind that face. She appeared… jaded.

"Wait a minute." Masooma's voice pulled Kurogane from his musings. He glanced towards her and noticed she'd pulled up what appeared to be close-up images of two samples of blood. He had seen the doctors in Piffle do something similar the last time he'd had his arm fixed. One of those samples probably belonged to Steel. "This can't be right." She frowned as she zoomed in on both images.

Looking at the two images side by side, Kurogane could see the subtle differences in the two samples. One consisted of the usual red-colored circular disks floating around in a liquid, along with oddly shaped particles. The other sample, in addition to the disks and the particles, contained a third, more unusual component. They looked tiny in comparison, but they also appeared more artificial in appearance. Round, metallic globules that were completely covered in tiny pins. He was quite certain, without even being able to read the labels, that this sample belonged to Steel. Which meant that the blood without the globules, the _clean_ blood, was his.

"Even scrubbed blood has traces of nanites," Tomoyo said, walking closer to the scans Masooma was working on. "They don't just _disappear_ altogether."

"Exactly!" Nixon exclaimed so vehemently Kurogane jumped. The man jabbed a finger at Kurogane's blood sample. "The Company doesn't have the tech available to pull off something like that. Not this precisely at least."

"That's why I couldn't trigger the nanites to fix his internal damage," Masooma said. "I thought maybe they'd been destroyed while he was missing but they were never there."

"But Steel had custom augmentations done," Tomoyo insisted. "Nixon personally did those."

"Yeah, he wanted an upgraded immune system." Nixon nodded as he pulled up a relevant file on the screen. "I built in shielding systems to keep someone from turning them off," he explained. "_No one_ could destroy those babies without killing the carrier. And since he's sitting right there…" Nixon jabbed a thumb in Kurogane's direction.

"He's not Steel," Masooma breathed. Kurogane risked a glance in Tomoyo's direction. She appeared frozen in place, giving him a wide-eyed stare. A heartbeat later, her expression twisted into fury. In less than a second, she was upon him. She grabbed him by the collar, the cold barrel of a gun pressing under his chin as she glared at him.

"Who are you?" she spat, yanking at his shirt to pull him closer as she did so. "What have your people done with Steel?"

Kurogane was shocked into silence by her reaction. Even if she was just a counterpart, Tomoyo had always been the calm, reasonable one. That was what made Tomoyo, Tomoyo. He knew this version of her was damaged in some ways; he'd have been blind not to notice that. But this was just... like she wasn't Tomoyo at all.

"Answer me," she hissed, burying the gun deeper into his skin. "Why did The Company clone him?"

"What makes you think I'm his clone?" Kurogane responded, surprised by how level his tone was even if it was still raspy from disuse. _Someone has to be clearheaded in this situation,_ he thought,_ and it sure as hell isn't going to be Tomoyo. Heh, if she could hear me now._

"_Don't_ screw with me," she warned. "Steel was one of the strongest leaders the Liberalists had seen in years. Maybe that didn't sit well with your friends at The Company. So they planned an ambush and snagged him the first chance they got. Then they had that bitch Akira whip up his clone and have that dropped on our heads. Tell me," her grip on his collar tightened, "am I getting their plan right so far?"

Kurogane said nothing, watching her as his mind reeled. _This can't be Tomoyo._

"Why are you here?"

_No matter how dire a situation, Tomoyo would always handle it serenely._

"Maybe he's a spy?" Masooma ventured from her spot next to the work table. Kurogane was a little surprised to note crimson runes hovering above her palm. Was she a witch? Her method of magic seemed eerily similar to Fai's.

"Well if he is," Nixon piped up, sightless eyes narrowed in Kurogane's direction, "he's pretty crappy at his job. He flat-out told me he wasn't Steel."

"You knew?" Tomoyo asked sharply. "Why didn't you just say it when I came here?"

"I wanted Masooma to confirm it first," he replied simply. "For all I knew, he could have been brainwashed by those guys."

"I'm not a clone or a spy," Kurogane said. He figured he might as well tell truth if he did not want to be riddled with bullets. Again. He was in no condition to defend himself. Worse, he didn't even have both his arms to help with his balance. As it was, he was completely at Tomoyo's mercy. "And I sure as hell am not Steel. Like I told him before," he jerked his head in Nixon's direction, "my name is Kurogane."

"_Black Steel_?" Tomoyo spat, turning her attention back to Kurogane. She glowered at him for a moment, shoving him back on the cot. Darkness encroached the edges of his vision for a heartbeat before fading away. Kurogane found himself looking up at her as she leaned over him. "Do you take me for a fool? Translating the name into a different language doesn't change anything. Where is the real Black Steel?"

"I don't know," he insisted, wondering if it would be wise to tell her that wherever he was, Steel was most definitely dead.

She cocked the hammer on her gun, pointing it right between his eyes as she stepped away from him.

"Tell me or I will shoot you right now," she said, a ring of finality to her tone. She narrowed her eyes, hatred contorting her face so that she was barely recognizable as the woman he knew.

_This is not Tomoyo,_ he told himself as he stared back defiantly._ Just someone who looks like her._

Tomoyo fired the gun.

-0-

Sector 64B had been sealed off from public right after the raid against the Liberalists three days ago. Guards belonging to The Company patrolled the outer perimeter of the quarantined sector. The news said it had been hit by some new contagion of Unnatural origin that killed everyone in that area in less than hour. Of course, The Company controlled and ran all the news channels, so they could manipulate the story to make the Liberalists look bad. They always did.

Not that the black-market dealer cared about either faction. He was just an ordinary man, trying to make a living dealing in the extraordinary things which just happened to include information. The Company had gone through a lot of trouble to secure this area from the general public. Security seemed rather tight, but for someone like him, giving The Company drones the slip was child's play. In less than a minute, he was strolling down the filthy, corpse-laden streets of 64B, polished cane tapping against the concrete sidewalk as he hummed a merry tune to himself. The stench rising off the decomposing bodies was putrid but he was contentedly breathing in fresh air through the gas-mask that he'd pulled on before entering the sector.

Blue eyes scanned their surroundings from behind a pair of vision enhancers, taking note of the bloating bodies that littered the ghost town he walked through. Stopping before one that was sprawled on the ground in his way, he bent down to take a closer look. Old, dried blood pooled on the ground around it. He poked the corpse with the end of his stick. The discolored skin ruptured, revealing a mass of squirming maggots, a sight that would have caused an average person to fight their gag reflexes. He merely blinked, peering closer as if examining an interesting specimen. Which, in a way, he was.

The corpse belonged to a middle-aged woman, who might have been beautiful in her life, but death had not been so kind to her. But he wasn't as interested in her beauty, or lack thereof, as he was in the cause of her death. Right along her throat, four diagonal slashed severed her neck, and a host of maggots fed on the rotting flesh.

He frowned as he noticed the shape and the placement of the wounds. They were definitely of Unnatural origin. But was the attacker a Liberalist? No. Liberalists did not go after civilians. Despite the way they were always painted on the news, Liberalists valued human life as much as they did that of the Unnaturals. A new pet for The Company, perhaps? That made more sense. Akira must have gone wild with her latest toy. This whole raid could have been a cover-up for a field test.

Straightening up, he wiped the tip of his walking stick on the corpse's outfit before stepping over it and resuming his walk. He paused every now and then to check on a corpse, always finding similar wounds on the victims, though sometimes, the cause of death turned out to be bullet wounds. This definitely smelled like a cover-up for The Company's experiments. He wondered how many human subjects they'd managed to snag in a raid like this. Plenty to keep the bastards in R & D happy for a month or two.

He wandered the streets for nearly an hour, finding nothing of consequence. He didn't even bother to hack into the security monitors. The Liberalists always hacked the monitors before a job, making themselves digitally invisible as they walked through the controlled part of Cavahall. And whatever The Company did in retaliation when they found out about the rebellion's presence, they deleted from the mainframes themselves.

He paused outside a destroyed bar, running a hand through messy golden hair as he contemplated heading back. It was obvious he wasn't going to find anything of interest apart from more bodies. Just as he was about to turn back around, however, he caught sight of something gleaming in the rubble of a half-demolished wall. Blackened blood stained the concrete, though there were no signs of a body anywhere. The amount of blood seemed to indicate that whoever it belonged to was long dead, though he could not spot the owner. Stepping over the corpse of a soldier a little ways away, he approached the spot where he had seen the shine.

He scanned the debris, a smile spreading across his lips beneath the gas mask as he spotted the object he was looking for, buried half-underneath the fallen brickwork. It was a sword, its silver blade coated in dried blood, the golden hilt covered in blackened fingerprints of its owner. Crouching next to the rubble, he shifted it aside to reveal the sword in its entirety. It was a finely crafted thing, the hilt designed to look like the long, slender neck of a fierce dragon with rubies for eyes.

"_Hello_ beautiful." He whistled long and slow as he reached out and picked it up, testing its weight in the palm of his hand before straightening. "You seem like you can fetch me quite a hefty sum," he said to no one in particular. "Almost makes my trip out here worth the trouble."

He turned around and headed back the way he'd come, once again humming to himself.

**_A/N: And that, dear readers, is why Kurogane should not have told them the truth just yet. _**

**_P.S. Whoever guesses the identity of the black-market dealer before I actually reveal his name gets a chance to make a cameo appearance around chapter 15 or have one of their OCs make an appearance instead. _**


	9. First Encounters

Mokona whimpered, clutching its bleeding stump of an arm closer to its chest as it huddled up in a corner, hoping the garbage would mask its scent from pursuers. Only half an hour ago, the dimension hopper had strayed into the territory of a pack of wild dogs while scrounging for food.

Under normal circumstances, Mokona would have simply bounced out of harm's way, but Mokona had been getting by on discarded scraps for the past three days. Added to the fact that it had been searching for its companions without stopping to rest, the poor creature was exhausted beyond comprehension. Not to mention severely weakened by the lack of food.

Which had made it an ideal target for a pack of hungry mongrels when Mokona had collapsed in an alleyway. Out-hopping a group of rabid dogs wasn't so easy when Mokona could not bounce to higher ground.

Mokona had sensed a powerful burst of Fai's magic in sector 64B three days ago and had made its way there in hopes of finding Fai. It took the dimension hopper nearly three days to find a way to reach the right sector. But by then, hoping for the blond to still be there was a bit of a long shot. But Mokona had had no other leads in locating its companions. So the dimension hopper had made its way towards the part of Cavahall where it suspected Fai to have last been, unaware of the destruction that awaited it there.

Mokona had almost turned back when it came across the first rotting, maggot-infested corpse. But the dimension hopper had continued on in hopes that it would be able to find a clue to Fai's whereabouts somewhere. That turned out be a big mistake when the dogs cornered it in the alleyway where Mokona had stopped to catch its breath. Taking Mokona to be fresh food, they had attacked. The dimension hopper barely made it out of the confrontation alive.

Nursing its injury, Mokona dragged its stubby paws across the concrete as it continued on, heading deeper into the sector. The dimension hopper had managed to somehow lose the pack of dogs, hiding its trail in the stench of corpses, but unfortunately, that had not happened before one of the dogs had bitten off a sizable chunk of its right paw. The stump bled sluggishly, matting its white fur with dirty brown splotches where the blood had dried.

Looking behind it and seeing nothing but a ghost city, it continued staggering through the empty streets. Though the wound had begun sealing up with some help from its magic, Mokona was still losing blood too quickly. If the dimension hopper did not get help soon, it knew it would die. The thought of death had never bothered the magical creature before, but as it became a very real possibility in its future, Mokona could not help but cry.

Fai and Syaoran and Kurogane would be stranded there and Mokona would never be able to see anyone again.

Mokona stumbled on a piece of debris, falling face-first into the ground. Another whimper shook its tiny body as it struggled to get back up.

"Fai…" Mokona sobbed, not even sure why it was calling out the magician's name. Fai would be long gone from this place by now.

Its long ears perked up at the sound of whistling nearby. Someone was here, _alive_. Mokona could ask them for help and then when the bleeding stopped, Mokona could start looking for its friends again. With renewed determination, the dimension hopper picked itself back up. Even as the world twisted and tumbled around it, the creature staggered towards the source of the noise. Clambering down a tiny mound of rubble, Mokona spotted a familiar figure heading its way.

"Fai," it gasped as the blond paused to watch Mokona descend. Darkness filled its vision as it tumbled down the last couple of feet, landing on the concrete with a tiny cry. Mokona heard the sound of footsteps racing towards it as consciousness began to flee from its grasp. The adrenaline and willpower that had been fueling the dimension hopper up until this point suddenly vanished altogether. Mokona was safe. It had found Fai. Everything would be okay now.

Warm hands carefully turned it over and Mokona spotted a pair of blue eyes looking down at it through a pair of odd-looking glasses.

"Fai…" It smiled in relief, though its voice came out as nothing more than a sigh.

"It's okay, little friend," Fai murmured as he picked Mokona up. "I've got you now."

-0-

Fai looked around in trepidation when his sensitive hearing picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. Even though the sound grew nearer with each second, Fai found it impossible to see past the white walls that surrounded him. So instead of straining against the invisible barriers, he closed his eyes and focused on the sound of the footsteps. It was easy for him to deduce that they belonged to two women, one in a position of authority, for she walked with strong, purposeful strides, and the other some sort of servant, her footsteps softer, more careful, as though their owner was afraid of drawing attention to herself by being too loud. The footsteps stopped before his cage, and Fai opened his eyes.

"Akira was right," a dark-haired woman said, peering through the bars of his cage. "You certainly _are_ a pretty one."

"I prefer the term handsome," he replied, keeping his tone light as he met her heavy-lidded gaze. Her lavender eyes glittered with amusement as she appraised him. A shiver ran down Fai's spine, though he knew it wasn't because the air was cold. He managed to keep his discomfort from showing on his face.

"Tell me," the woman said, as though speaking to a child, "what are you called?"

"Fai D. Fluorite."

"Wrong answer," the woman said as she tapped the top of his cage. For a split second, nothing happened. And then, suddenly Fai felt every hair on his body stand up, static charging the air before a surge of power rushed into his body from the floor. It ripped through his flesh, piercing right through his bones. He screamed, his body thrashing upon the floor as he blanked out.

And then, as soon as it had begun, it stopped. A strong ache lingered in his body as Fai lay against the cold metal in a limbless heap, gasping for breath.

"Let's try that again, shall we?" the woman suggested as Fai struggled to push himself back up into a sitting position. "What are you called?"

"F-Fai." He panted, squinting at the woman through his watering eyes. She frowned. Next to her, Fai noticed the servant girl cringing in fear. The woman tapped the top of his cage once more and the energy flared to life again. It tore through his body, burning skin and muscles alike. Fai writhed and thrashed, screaming. Minutes, hours, even weeks seemed to pass before the electricity cut off.

Fai could feel bile rise up in his throat, the metallic tang of blood collecting in his mouth from where he'd bitten his tongue. The air was heavy with the stench of singed hair and burnt flesh. His stomach churned, and Fai fought the urge to throw up as he looked up at the woman. His limbs trembled as sweat slithered down his skin.

"It seems to me that Akira did not bother explaining how this works," the woman said casually as she straightened up. "Subspecies, such as yourself, do not _have_ names. Legally speaking, your identity ceased to exist the minute you became the property of The Company. Not that you had any legal freedom before your capture," she added as an afterthought.

Narrowing his eyes, he spat blood even as he felt his tongue heal itself. "I am a _human being,_" he gasped. "I don't belong to anyone."

"On the contrary." The woman smirked as she took something from the girl standing beside her. It clattered on the floor near Fai when she threw it through the bars. "I'll admit that you all have your…" She paused, eyeing him up and down as her smirk took on a sinister edge, "… _uses._ But in the end, Unnaturals are only a little better than animals. You need to be taught your place. Now put that on." She ordered, nodding towards the object she had thrown inside.

Looking at it a little closer, Fai realized it was a metal collar, made of two interlocking semi-circles. Their surfaces appeared smooth and featureless, the edges designed to fit together seamlessly. When Fai made no attempts to do as she had directed, the woman touched the top of his cage for the third time and the floor came alive with electricity.

Fai screamed. And screamed and screamed as his world was consumed by pain.

By the time she turned it off, Fai was nearly unconscious. His mind went blank, unable to tell up from down. The only thing that he could hear was the horrible sound of himself choking for air. His chest felt as though hundreds of knives were stabbing him from the inside. And yet, even as he lay there, body shaking, he could feel himself heal.

"If you don't want another dose of that, you'd better put on that collar now, 224," the woman drawled. "Unless you want this to keep up."

Hands trembling, he picked up the metal object.

"You want me to take away my own freedom?" he asked, somehow managing to get back into a sitting position, though he had to lean heavily against the side of his cage.

"You didn't have much to begin with," the woman replied. Fai looked over at the other woman and noticed a similar band peeking out from underneath her collar. Another Unnatural?

Fai contemplated throwing it back at the woman, consequences be damned. He wasn't about to put something like that around his neck. He still had to find a way to get to Syaoran, after all.

_You can't find Syaoran if you're dead!_

"I can keep this up all day long, you know," the woman reminded him as she reached for the activation switch again.

"W-Wait!" he cried, hating himself for what he was about to do. But he knew he couldn't help _anyone_ if he died. And this woman seemed to have no qualms about killing him if it came down to it. "Just give me a moment."

Fighting back a shudder, he looked down at the semi-circles in his hands, slowly bringing them to his neck. The metal dug into his skin as he pressed the two halves together, and they automatically locked in place with an ominous click. A wave of exhaustion washed over him as the last bits of his magic were siphoned off by the collar. _It's made out of the same material as the bands around your wrists, _his mind supplied.

He heard a soft beep as the front of his cage opened, making him look up.

"Get out," the woman ordered. Not wanting another round of electricity wreaking havoc on his body, Fai obeyed. He crawled out of the tiny space and into the corridor, struggling to stand up and failing miserably.

"Pick it up," she barked at her servant girl, who shot forward and grabbed Fai by his arm. In a surprising show of strength, she pulled him to his feet, keeping her fingers clasped tightly to keep him from falling. He sent the servant girl a grateful smile before turning his attention to other woman.

"My name is Naba." She smiled so warmly, it almost made her look beautiful. "You can address me as Mistress Naba. I will be your trainer until I see fit to release you into the Pleasure Program." The cruel glint in her gaze twisted her beauty into something terrible, an effect further pronounced when all warmth faded from her expression, leaving behind nothing but sadistic glee. "Welcome to the rest of your life, 224."

**_A/N: Mokona is an extremely annoying character to write. Putting it through uncomfortable and painful situations is my way of making it a little more bearable to write in the meat-bun's point of view. And even though it's lost a limb, Mokona did find someone familiar looking, right? So you guys can put down those pitchforks now. No, really guys, it'll get better I swear. As soon as I'm done tortur— *ahem* I mean laying down the important plot points and intros and stuff._**

**_Fai seems to be in quite a bit of trouble. Any guesses on what Naba might have in store for our favorite blond? I'd love to hear what you think so drop me your reviews and comments and angry-rants about Mokona's mistreatment._**


	10. Questions

Kurogane was floating in darkness, a place where nothing reached him. Silence pressed down on him until a soft voice pulled him out.

_"What is your name?"_

He still floated in an emptiness, but the voice anchored him in place. He felt compelled to reply. Could it help him find a way out if he answered it? A voiceless feeling told him it would. All he had to do was reply. He could do that.

_"Kurogane."_

_"Black Steel. Is that your real name?"_

A harder question. Did it qualify as his real name? It was not his _true_ name, but it was still his name. Did that make it real? He felt the tether loosen, the silence beginning to drag him back into the emptiness. Instinct told him that all he had to do to make the voice talk was answer.

_"I don't know."_

_"What do you mean?"_

What did he mean? A true name was not the same as a real name. Or was it? It was still his name. But…

_"I don't know."_

_"Okay… Can you tell me your real name?"_

Could he? What qualified as his real name? Was it the one he had gone by his whole life? Or the one only a select few could ever know? His thoughts raced, but his body felt incapable of moving on its own. And yet, he did not feel the panic he should have felt. It was strange, but it still felt normal. Like he had been in this state his whole life. Why would he panic over something normal? The tether slipped and he found himself drifting again.

All he had to do was answer. The voice would bring him back.

_"No."_

_"Why not?"_

He didn't know why, but that had not satisfied the voice. Maybe a different explanation could work? True names were not something to be casually handed out, after all.

_"Because names hold power."_

A loud creak followed his declaration, followed by a heavy sigh.

"Any luck so far?" a new voice spoke up, and suddenly the tether holding Kurogane in place vanished. Darkness swallowed him as the silence dragged him into the nothingness. His mind went numb as awareness fled from his mind.

Somewhere far, far away, voices spoke.

-0-

Nixon paused outside the door of the room Chu'nyan was using to interrogate the imposter. Pulling up the live feed from the security camera, he took a moment to _look _at the man being questioned. Chu'nyan knelt before him, her back towards the camera, making it impossible for Nixon to gauge her facial expression. But judging from the stiffness in her shoulders, he could guess it was proving difficult for the _Elemental_ to do her work properly. Her fingers were pressed against the imposter's temples as she spoke to him.

Nixon frowned. If she needed physical contact to use her abilities on him, it was a clear sign that this _Kurogane_ had a strong mind.

Nixon pushed the door open, wincing when it creaked loudly. Figuring that he had already broken her concentration, he stepped inside.

"Any luck so far?" he asked, making the teenage girl sigh as she let go of her prisoner. Nixon dismissed the live feed. Now that he was on the other side of the wooden door, he had no need to look at the proceedings through a secondary circuit.

Shaking her head, she stood up, tugging at the end of her ponytail in frustration.

"Are you sure this guy's not an _Elemental_?" she asked. "I mean, I've been in here with him for over an hour, trying to get him to answer me, but it's like he's got concrete fortifications around his mind or something!" She threw up her hands, glaring at the imposter. "I've tried everything on him: voice modulation, hypnosis, blackout of his senses. _Nothing _phased him. In the end, I had to resort to using all three on him at the same time and even then, I can barely get this guy to answer."

"I'm sorry for putting you through this," Nixon said, "but we really need to know who this guy is. If he's a plant from The Company, we need to know. He could have been sent here to take out—" He stopped, suddenly realizing that the imposter was still there as well. "Is he…?"

"Able to hear us?" Chu'nyan finished wryly. "Nah, his brain is blacked out. He can probably still hear us, but I doubt he'll be able to understand anything." She glanced at the imposter with a particularly wicked grin, "After what he's put me through though, I don't feel sorry for him."

Nixon chuckled, shaking his head. Chu'nyan was what The Company would classify as a Class A-type _Elemental_. She was more or less a human lie-detector coupled with a truth serum. Or at least, that was how her ability was supposed to work. It was more complicated than that, but a simplified version of it all was that Chu'nyan could compel the truth out of almost anyone. It depended on how strong a mind the other person possessed. A weak-minded person could be convinced by her voice alone while a stronger mind would sometimes require her to touch the other person. As far as Nixon knew, she had never faced someone that showed enough immunity to her abilities for her to warrant such extreme measures.

Coupling that with how proud she was of her abilities, Nixon knew the imposter ticked her off.

"What have you managed to get from him so far?"

"Nothing he hadn't told you already," she grumbled. "Still claims his name is Kurogane. Although," She frowned. "he's not sure if that's his real name or not."

"How can he not know that?"

"I dunno. When I asked him about it, he said he couldn't tell me anything because 'names hold power'." She curled her fingers to quote his words before rolling her eyes. "Makes me wonder if he's a sleeper agent of some sort. Maybe his real name is the trigger and he's not allowed to recall it?"

"That's a possibility." Nixon nodded. His gaze shot towards the imposter when the man began to fidget. He glanced at Chu'nyan. "I thought you said he was under black-out."

"He _is_," the girl insisted, a rare look of fear flashing across her face before she hid it behind an angry mask. "He shouldn't be able to move at all. How the hell is he doing that?"

"Maybe he's an A-type as well?" Nixon ventured, frowning as he looked closer at the man. A-types were a rare class of _Elementals_, almost as hard to come by as the _Magirius._ They were also the most difficult types of Unnaturals to identify simply because of the _Elemental _ability to blend in with normal humans. Unlike the other types of Unnaturals, like the _Vampirosa _with their fangs, the _Lupines _with their eyes and the _Magirius_ with their auras, the _Elementals _were the only kind that could go virtually undetected amongst humans. If they didn't use their abilities in front of The Company's mindless drones, at least.

So it wasn't that difficult to assume that an Unnatural with partial immunity to Chu'nyan's abilities had existed all this time without drawing any attention.

"If he's an _Elemental,_ how the heck am I supposed to question him?"

"By asking _him_ what the hell you want to know in the first place!" the imposter snarled, making Nixon jump.

"Impossible…" Chu'nyan gasped as she rounded on the man. "How did you wake up?"

"If I wasn't grateful to you lot for saving my life," the man said, hatred shining deep in his crimson eyes, "I'd kill you for treating me like a criminal. I didn't even do anything to you."

"I'd love to see you try," Chu'nyan sneered as she stalked over to him. "I don't know how you broke free, but I'm going to put you down so hard you'll wish you never tried escaping the blackout the first time."

Nixon watched as the man struggled against the metal bands keeping his legs and arm tied to the chair. Sweat shined brightly against his sickly, ashy skin, the effort tiring his weakened body, though the man didn't seem like the type to let that get in his way. Chu'nyan pressed her hands against his temples, and Nixon watched as the man tried to shake her off.

"Chu'nyan, wait," Nixon said before the girl could actually put the imposter under again. "Let me try once." The girl grit her teeth, shooting Nixon a glare over her shoulder in defiance. Nixon held her gaze, knowing that despite her stubbornness, she would do as he asked. In the end, she relented, moving away with another glare. Nixon bit back a smile as he took her place before the imposter.

"You may be immune to part of Chu'nyan's abilities," Nixon told the imposter, "but you still can't lie without her knowing about it. I'm willing to give you a chance to explain yourself without any form of coercion, but bear this in mind: One lie, _one_ slip up, I'll let Chu'nyan have her way with you. And trust me on this, _Kurogane,_" He narrowed his eyes, "if she goes all out on you, you'll be _wishing_ you'd told us the truth when you had the chance."

"What do you want to know?" the imposter said through clenched teeth.

"Who are you, really? Why are you here? Are you affiliated with The Company in any way or form?" Nixon rattled off, "Why do you look so much like my friend who you claimed is dead. _How_ do you know he's dead?"

"Is that all?"

"Of course not," He smiled coldly. "But I figured I should let you warm up a little first."

"Heh, how _generous_ of you," the man scoffed as he looked away. "My name is Kurogane. Up until a week before you guys found me, I didn't even know what the heck The Company was, let alone was part of it. I'm a traveler from a place called Nihon. I couldn't have arrived here in Cavahall if your friend was still alive because two copies of the same soul can't exist in the same place."

"Are you saying you're a _dimension_ traveler?"

"Yeah."

Nixon quirked a brow towards Chu'nyan in a silent question. The ability to travel through dimensions wasn't unheard of. But the amount of magic required to tear through the fabric of space was far too great for someone to crossover from one reality to another repeatedly, which was what this Kurogane seemed to be implying. Chu'nyan gave the slightest of nods. She couldn't pick any lies from him so far.

"How can you travel dimensions when you possess no magic?"

"I made a deal with the Space-Time Witch."

"The witch has been dead for over a hundred years." Nixon frowned. "You don'tlook a day over twenty-eight."

"I met her when she was still alive," the man replied, "and time flows differently in every world we visit. It possible she's been dead here for over a hundred years, but she died four years ago by my time."

"And _why_ are you traveling dimensions?" Chu'nyan piped up.

"I'm helping someone get back something they lost."

"How do you know Tomoyo?" Nixon asked, "And where is this person you're supposed to be helping?"

"I serve another version of her in Nihon. And…" He paused. "I don't know where they are. I got separated from them. I only want to find my companions and be on my way."

"Why should we believe anything you say?" Chu'nyan said, and Nixon wondered if this man was somehow also proving immune to her lie detection.

"Because it's the truth," Kurogane replied. "_I_ didn't come looking for you guys. Hell, I don't even know how I ended up here in the first place. The last thing I remember before waking up in your medical station was chasing down the kid and the idiot."

"Who?"

"My companions, Tsu—Syaoran and Fai. I saw them during the raid, and I was trying to get to them. The kid was right there with me. Did you bring him in too?"

"I'm sorry." Nixon shook his head, noting the way Kurogane paled. "You were the only one we could grab at the time. The soldiers were everywhere, and we didn't have time for anything else. You _were_ dying after all."

"How long has it been?" the man asked, a hint of urgency to his tone. "How long have I been here?"

"Why do you want to know?" Chu'nyan questioned.

"I don't have time for this, damn it!" Kurogane snarled. "I don't care if you trust me or not. I've told you I'm not here for you guys. I need to find my companions. It had already been a week when I last saw them. Now tell me, how long have I been here?"

"Four days."

Kurogane's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he swore. "Fuck! Let me out of this chair. I need to find him _now!_" He began to struggle against his bonds.

"Why?" Nixon asked, crossing his arms. He made no motion to free the man.

"He can't stay in any world longer than a few days." Something told Nixon this information wasn't something Kurogane would normally give up so willingly. But he seemed genuinely worried about his companion. "The last time we tried, the kid ended up in a coma. We've been here for eleven days. I need to get to him before something happens to him."

"As compelling as your story may sound," Nixon said, noting how Kurogane froze at his words, " still don't really trust you. You might think you're telling us what you believe to be the truth, but until we can know for sure, I'm afraid we can't let you go."

"Fuck you!" Kurogane snarled, resuming his struggles, shocking Nixon when the metal groaned under the force of his attempts to get out. "Let go of me, damn it, or I swear I'll rip you apart with my bare hands. If anything happens to the kid because of you, I won't even care about the fact that you saved my life."

"Look at it from our perspective for a moment, Kurogane," Nixon said. "You're asking us to put a lot of faith in your word. Give us some time to look at our options, at least. Cooperate with us, and maybe if we believe you, we might pitch in and help you find your friends."

"Screw cooperation," the man growled, though Nixon was pleased to note he ceased his struggles. Although, that was probably more because Kurogane had exhausted his strength for the time being. "I'll get out of here with or without your help."

"All right then," Nixon said cheerfully. "You just sit tight, and I'll go see what Tomoyo has to say about it all, okay? Brilliant." And then, without waiting for a response, Nixon grabbed Chu'nyan's arm and proceeded to drag her outside. As the door swung shut behind them, Nixon heard Kurogane swearing at them as he proceeded towards Tomoyo's office.

**_A/N: So those of you who guessed that Kurogane was still alive, congratulations. Those who believed he was dead… Tsk tsk. Really guys. You should know me better by now. When there's torture and fun to be had, it'd be a little disappointing to kill someone off this early, no? But don't worry. There will be plenty of deaths in the future. And any one of the three main guys can still end up deader than dead before the epilogue is up. ;) so just because I didn't kill anyone yet, doesn't mean they're safe. _**

**_Don't forget to drop me your reviews. By the way, I'm thinking of holding a poll over which of the TRC guys gets to die. I still reserve the right to make the final choice but if it were up to you guys, which character would you like to see die? Or live. Or both really. *shrugs* vote with the character name and living or dead at the end of your review. Who knows, I might even change my decision to go with what the majority wants. ;) )_**


	11. Losses

There came times when Syaoran thought he was mad. His body burned as though lit on fire from the inside; restlessness was a constant ache in his heart. And then there was that ever persistent itch. That thing at the base of his neck that shot pulses through his spine that made him grind his teeth. It was impossible to ignore even if Emeraude had assured him it no longer had any control over him.

Hunger gnawed at his insides every second he spent awake. The blood they brought him rarely satisfied him for more than an hour. And he couldn't manage to keep the food down at all. Which was strange because he _knew_ vampires could eat normal food. He had seen someone do it before.

Syaoran frowned, trying to recall who it was that he had known, but as the bells grew louder in his mind, he stopped forcing his memories. Emeraude had told him they were repressed for his own benefit. He became delirious every time he remembered something, screaming and raging at thin air for hours. So the older vampire had given him some sort of medicinal concoction to help him with that. Whatever had happened to him, it was bad. Bad enough to rob him of his sanity.

But something told Syaoran his memories were not the reason behind his insanity. No. It was the bells. The bells that never stopped and grew louder every time he tried to remember. It was the bells. He was sure of it. It had to be. The bells were important, though he could not recall why. All he knew was that they were connected to the reason he went mad every time he remembered. It was as though the bells intensified everything around him to such an extent his mind simply couldn't cope with it. Sights, sounds, even feelings, _everything_ became heightened to a point where his own sense of existence turned to nothing. And the bells would always be there, ringing so loud all he could do was scream, hoping to drown out the sound.

He had told Emeraude about it, though she only looked at him pitifully whenever he brought it up. She had no idea what had happened to him. No one did. He had been found by the Scavengers in one of Cavahall's sectors after a raid by The Company. He had been left for dead amidst a pile of corpses, but the Scavengers had found him and brought him to the mines.

The Scavengers ran a series of mines just outside of Cavahall, right at the border of the wastelands. They procured slaves from The Company to work in these mines, although they were also known to snatch Unnaturals whenever they could. The Company tolerated this, apparently, because the Scavengers procured the precious metal Cerellium that The Company used in most of its construction projects. It was a metal that they used to suppress an Unnatural's abilities; the research and development department at The Company had developed customized compounds for each of the five classes of Unnaturals.

According to the information tattooed above Syaoran's collarbone, his designation was 543, and he was a hybrid between a _Vampirosa _and a _Magirius._ Their boss seemed pleased with his acquisition according to Emeraude, who herself was a _Vampirosa_ serving as the nurse for all Unnaturals working at the mines. She'd been instructed to do everything in her power to get Syaoran into a state of mind where he could be put to use. And the only solution she had come up with was suppressing his memories.

A part of him resented her for robbing him of the very thing that had turned him into the person that he now was, but a second part of him felt grateful. His memories carried with them a heavy burden, the knowledge of which was enough to drive him insane. At least this way, without such grave information, he could function like a normal person.

-0-

"Get up!" ordered Fai's trainer as he gasped for breath.

His limbs trembled as he struggled to pick himself off the floor. The skin on his neck itched as the burnt flesh healed.

"A creature like you must learn not to look your betters in the eye," Naba told him. "You are nothing but a pretty face on an inferior being. Your soul, your mind, _your_ _body_ belongs to The Company to use as we please. If you ever had any delusions about being worth something, it's about time you learnt better. You are _nothing._"

Fai glared at the woman. "Sounds to me like you could do with some _learning _yourself."

The woman smiled thinly, pressing a button on the remote she held, sending powerful shocks coursing through Fai's body. He screamed, falling back to the floor, writhing in agony as electricity tore through his muscles.

"You will do well to remember your place, 224," the woman said as she crouched next to him, "You may speak only when given the permission to do so."

"Go to hell," he gasped, gritting his teeth for the inevitable pain as he looked her right in the eye. He screamed when the next shock ripped through him. He felt her cold fingers caress his face as she leaned over him.

"You're even more beautiful when you scream." She gave him a lecherous grin. Licking her lips, she pushed his sweat-drenched hair away from his forehead and added, "My gorgeous little pet. You _will _learn to accept me as your mistress."

"I doubt that," Fai hissed, biting back a groan when a spasm jerked through his limbs. It left behind a deep, lingering ache.

Her fingers tangled in his hair, dragging him into a sitting position. Fai reached up with trembling hands to make her let go, but she held fast, tightening her hold as she yanked at his hair.

"You won't be saying that for long, 224," she whispered, tracing the shell of his ear with her tongue before nibbling at the lobe in the end. "Your willpower is no doubt strong. It had to be for you to reject the implants, but when I'm done with you, you will be the perfect little slave, my pet." With that, she shoved him away. Fai collided with the tiled floor as his head spun.

Naba straightened up, pocketing the remote before turning to her silent slave. The woman had been standing in the corner all this time with her head bowed in a submissive manner. But she cowered when the woman turned towards her. "Take it back to its cage. Make sure you feed it before locking it up. We will resume our training tomorrow."

It felt as though years went by as Fai concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other as the slave girl supported his dead weight to the cage. She somehow managed to get him inside, though Fai got the feeling she was eager to get away from him. The minute his body hit the steel floor of the cage, the slave-girl raced outside, sealing the entrance behind her. Struggling to sit upright, he leaned against the side of the cage, observing the girl through half-lidded eyes. She stood pressed up against the opposite wall, watching him warily, trying not to let her fear show on her face.

"You can go if you want, you know," he murmured.

"No." She shook her head, her voice just as soft and submissive as her appearance. "I need to feed you."

"But you're afraid of me."

"I am nothing," the girl whispered, more to herself than to Fai. She looked down at her feet. "My soul, my mind, my body belongs to The Company, to do with it as they please."

Fai frowned, opening his mouth to tell her otherwise when the girl yanked out a knife from her dress and slashed the inside of her wrist. Biting back a scream, she took in a shaky breath, repeating what Fai guessed had to be a mantra. "I am nothing. My soul, my mind, my body belongs to The Company to do with it as they please." She sobbed before taking a step towards Fai. Blood dripped from her injured flesh onto the spotless floor.

Fai watched in shock as the closed the distance between them, thrusting her wounded arm through the bars of his cage all the while keeping up her self-deprecating mantra.

"Stop it." She nearly jumped at the sound of Fai's voice, but then merely shook her head, repeating the mantra a little more forcefully. "I'm not going to take your blood," Fai said between clenched teeth. Being electrocuted so many times in a single day had drained the strength from his body, but he would not drink from someone who was so scared of him. It was harder to get the next words out as he struggled to keep his instincts under control, but he refused to go crazy over just a little bit of spilled blood. "Go get that wound treated."

"_I am nothing,"_ the girl chanted under her breath, eyes closed as she held out her arm for him. "My soul, my mind, my body belongs to The Company to with it as they please."

"Stop it," Fai insisted. "I don't want your blood."

"No," she gasped. She somehow managed to get her fingers around the collar of his shirt and pulled him towards her. Fai nearly fell on his face but he steadied himself with his hand. "I have been ordered to feed you. Mistress Naba is watching. If you don't eat, I-I..." Her voice cracked as she tried to convey whatever it was she felt through her desperate gaze alone.

"What?" he asked, his heightened senses aware of every drop of blood that slithered down her pale flesh. "What will happen to you?"

"I will be punished."

"For something you're not responsible for?" Even as the words left his mouth, Fai realized just how stupid the question sounded. Of course she'd be punished. If they could torture him simply for being a vampire with a mind of his own, they could most certainly do the same to her for not following orders. Even if their demands were beyond her will. Not for the first time, Fai wondered how Syaoran was faring. Was he somewhere in this facility being treated like an inferior being, getting electrocuted or enduring humiliation? Or maybe he'd gotten away? He could always hope for miracles.

_But when have miracles ever happened for any of you?_ a voice, that sounded suspiciously like Syaoran, hissed in his mind. Ignoring the guilt and the worry he felt, he returned his attention to the slave girl.

"Fine, I'll do it." He sighed. The girl released his shirt, bringing her arm closer to his mouth. Fai took it in his hands. "But you have to get it treated right after, all right?"

The girl said nothing, and Fai decided to pretend she would do as he had asked. Taking care not to scratch her with his fangs, he pressed his lips around the wound, lapping at the blood with his tongue. He felt her stiffen under his touch, shuddering from something that could have been fright or disgust. He couldn't tell without a blood-bond like the one he'd once shared with Kurogane.

Painfully aware of her discomfort, Fai pulled back feeling his stomach roil from the aura that now surrounded her. He was still hungry, but he just couldn't take any more of her blood. He wondered if this girl could somehow manipulate the emotions of those around her. Or maybe it was just the guilt bubbling up inside his stomach that drove away his appetite.

"Won't you take any more?" she asked, a hint of surprise leaking into her voice when he let go of her arm.

"No, I'm not really that hungry," Fai smiled, though he doubted the girl could tell it was fake.

"Oh." She pulled her arm back, clutching it close to her chest.

"Thank you," he continued. "If you don't mind my asking, what is your name?"

"109."

"No." He shook his head, still keeping up the smile. "I mean, your _real_ name."

"I-I..." She appeared shocked by his question. She must not get asked about her proper name very often. "I don't have one." She stammered.

"Everyone has a name," Fai insisted. "I'm Fai. And you are?"

"Xing Huo," she whispered.

"That's a pretty name." He smiled, somehow managing to keep the shock from showing up on his face. Xing Huo had been the girl who had sent Syaoran to Yuuko's shop after he had escaped from captivity. This girl must have been one of the originals, then. "Can you tell me what happened to my friend?"

"543?"

"His name is Syaoran."

"He's gone."

He felt his heart skip a beat, dread twisting his gut so painfully, he felt like he'd throw up the blood he'd consumed. "What? What do you mean he's _gone_? Gone as in…" He trailed off, unable to finish his question.

"Never made it back from Sector 64-B," she replied.

"No." Fai shook his head. "He must have escaped. He's probably just out there somewhere, getting help." His words sounded weak even to his own ears. They had been in this world for too long. The price had taken its toll on Syaoran and now he was…

"I'm sorry for your loss." He caught the pity in her voice as she got back to her feet. "He tried to fight against our masters. If you don't want to end up like him… Maybe you should do as Mistress Naba asks," she suggested quietly.

Devastated, he merely stared at the blood as she turned and walked away.

**_A/N: I know some of you guys might feel like the pace is a little slow but don't worry, just a few more chapters to go before the ball really starts to roll. I've got a lot of fun stuff planned out for these guys. ;) ;) _**

**_Don't forget to drop me a review and tell me what you think. Oh and the poll is still ongoing so feel free to vote as well._**


	12. Help

Mokona woke to a dull throbbing on its right side. The dimension hopper remembered being in a lot of pain. It also remembered being very weak and tired. But now that it had slept, it felt better. In fact, Mokona felt almost comfortable and warm—something the white creature had not experienced since arriving in Cavahall.

Slowly opening its eyes, Mokona took note of the soft bed it lay on and the patchwork quilt covering its body. Mokona wondered if it had dreamed seeing Fai before. What were the odds of fainting right after the dimension hopper saw its missing companion? Mokona's ears drooped as it dismissed Fai's image as a hallucination and began looking around its whereabouts. The room had a homey, lived-in feeling to it, with clothes strewn all over the furniture and the floor. Here and there, the dimension hopper could also spot curious-looking contraptions poking out from under the clothes, though Mokona could not figure out what they were for.

Careful not to jostle its injured side, Mokona stood up, trotting over to the edge of the bed before hopping down. A whimper escaped its mouth when the jump sent a jolt of pain through its stub of an arm. On the other side of the bed, a door opened.

"Hello, little buddy," a familiar voice called out, causing Mokona to perk up. So maybe it hadn't been a hallucination after all. "Where'd you go? I brought you something to eat."

"Fai," Mokona whispered in relief. He had found Mokona. Now they could look for the others. Syaoran had to be very sick by now. Maybe the others were around here somewhere already.

"Ah, there you are," Fai said as he stepped around the bed and approached Mokona. "What are you doing down there on the floor, little guy? You shouldn't be moving around right now." He clicked his tongue in disapproval as he picked Mokona up and set it down on the bed. "Those dogs really did a number on you." Narrowing his eyes, Fai peered at Mokona a little closer and it was then that Mokona noticed something odd.

Fai wasn't acting like Fai at all. He hadn't even asked how Mokona was feeling.

"I bet you're in a lot of pain," Fai said as he turned away. Mokona frowned. Fai spoke like he thought Mokona couldn't understand him at all. "Don't worry, though. I've put some painkillers in the milk so I know it's going to taste a little odd. But it'll be good for you, okay?"

Mokona knew what painkillers were. Mokona had traveled with the others long enough to know their purpose, so why was Fai explaining it? And since when had Fai started speaking with a Welsh accent? Ten days of separation were not long enough for someone to acquire such a prominent accent.

The dots began connecting in Mokona's head as Fai picked Mokona up again, bringing a bowl of milk to the dimension hopper's mouth as though trying to feed a pet.

"Now drink up, alright?" he coaxed. "I'll take a look at your paw after that."

Mokona's heart sank as it realized that this man was not Fai. Maybe he was this world's Fai but then… Mokona's friend would not have been able to come here, and Mokona _knew _the magic it had sensed had belonged to the magician. So its friend could not be dead. Given the fact that two versions of the same soul could not survive in the same world, this must be the other twin. Cavahall's version of the real Fai. Did this Fai lose his brother too? Maybe if Mokona explained the situation to him, he could help Mokona find its friends.

"Are you Fai?" Mokona asked in a tiny voice, hoping he would not call those nasty men to capture Mokona. The blond stiffened, his eyes going wide for a fraction of a second before becoming devoid of all emotion.

"You can talk," was all he said as he put the bowl away. He adjusted his grip on Mokona with both hands, making it difficult for the dimension hopper to escape. Mokona squirmed as the man brought it up to his eye level. "What are you then? Some sort of psychic _Elemental_-animal hybrid?"

"Mokona is Mokona."

"Mokona, huh?" The man quirked a brow before turning Mokona over. Mokona let out a tiny squeak as the man began prodding at its fur and ears, turning it completely upside down at one point. "Where did you come from? Are you one of The Company's experiments?"

"Stop it!" Mokona cried, feeling dizzy from all the poking and the turning. "Mokona is not an experiment."

"I don't see any identification tags on you," he said. "Are you some sort of exotic pet?"

"Mokona is not a pet," the dimension hopper insisted. "Mokona is just Mokona. And Mokona is looking for Mokona's friends."

"There are more of you?" the man sounded interested now, though there was an almost sinister edge to his smile. Mokona decided that it did not like this version of Fai very much. Fai was supposed to be nice.

"No, there is only Mokona in Cavahall," Mokona answered. "Mokona's friends are Kurogane and Syaoran and… Fai. But you are not Fai."

"I'm afraid not, little friend." The man shook his head. "But I can help you look for them if you want."

"Syaoran gets very sick if he stays in one world for too long," Mokona admitted, its ears drooping as the dimension hopper thought about its friends. "Mokona takes everyone to a new place when Mokona's earring glows. But Mokona can't find anyone even though Mokona looked everywhere. Then Mokona sensed Fai using magic but when Mokona got there the dogs attacked."

"You're friends with a _Magirius_?" he asked, narrowing his eyes again. "Is he a part of The Liberalists?"

"No. Everyone is just a traveler."

"Travelers, huh?" The man smirked, setting Mokona down on the bed again. "They shouldn't be too hard to find, then."

"You'll help?"

"Of course, didn't I say I would?" He chuckled, gently nudging Mokona towards the bowl of milk. "Someone traveling with a Mokona would certainly be an interesting person to know. I'd love to meet all of your friends. Now drink up. I can't help you look for them if you're so weak."

Nodding, Mokona began to drink, making a face the unpleasant aftertaste.

"Nasty, isn't it?" The man laughed. "It won't work if you don't finish it, though."

"Can Mokona have an apple after this?"

"Can your stomach even handle solid food?"

"Of course!" Mokona declared, finishing off the bowl in one gulp. "Mokona is awesome like that."

"All right then." He chuckled, ruffling the fur on Mokona's head as he stood up. "I'll go find some apples for the awesome Mokona."

"And then can we look for Mokona's friends?" the dimension hopper asked.

"I'll see what we can do about that," he said as he collected the tray and started for the door. He paused near the threshold for a moment, throwing a tiny grin over his shoulder as he looked back as Mokona. "I forgot to introduce myself earlier, by the way. I'm Yuui."

-0-

"Congratulations!" Nixon announced as he stepped back into the interrogation room. Kurogane had been tied there for nearly half a day with nothing but walls to glower at. Irritated by Nixon's cheerful tone, he threw the other man his nastiest glare. "Tomoyo has decided to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"_Benefit of __the __doubt_?" Kurogane repeated."It took you an entire day to reach that decision?"

"Technically speaking, it only took us about seven hours, "the man pointed out, unfazed by Kurogane's menacing tone.

"Is everything a fucking joke to you?"

"Well," Nixon grinned as he approached Kurogane, stopping only a foot away, "now that you mention it, Tommy does keep telling me that I need to be a little more serious." He began digging around his jacket."Though just between you and me, I think Tommy is more than serious enough for the both of us. Ah, here we are." Hepulled out a key before turning his attention towards Kurogane.

"I'm going to let you out now, but you're going to be cooperative and do as you're told, all right? Tomoyo has agreed to help you search for your companions. If you're telling the truth, that is," he added as an afterthought. "Just know that if this far-fetched tale of yours is a lie, you're really going to wish you'd never come here. Tomoyo has a… shall we say, a very vindictive streak."

"Are you gonna keep babbling all day or will you let me out already?" Despite knowing that this Tomoyo was nothing like the ones he had previously come across, Kurogane was still a little unnerved hearing her referred to as vindictive.

"You still have to agree to the terms."

"I'll cooperate," Kurogane grunted.

"Great." Nixon moved behind Kurogane, fiddling around with something at the back of the chair. A series of beeps followed a click of a key before the metal bands snapped open. "Now, Masooma has ordered me to bring you straight up to the medical bay, so we'll be going there first. Once she has poked at you to her heart's content, you can give me a description of your companions and I'll send out an alert for them."

Kurogane flexed his wrist as he stood up, wondering why this man was acting so relaxed in his presence. Even if they were choosing to believe him, with the way they had been treating him earlier, Nixon seemed oddly careless now, turning his back to a possible enemy. Kurogane knew that the man had bionic implants in place of his eyes, but he doubted that Nixon could actually see through the back of his own head.

When two armed men joined their party outside the door, Nixon's behavior began to make more sense. He was confident in the abilities of these men to keep Kurogane under control. Or maybe he was just confident they'd be able to shoot Kurogane before he could try anything since they were both carrying one of the bigger models of guns. Kurogane noticed some additions to the design that didn't appear to be a part of the standard-issue weapon she'd seen being carried around by Cavahall's soldiers. He wondered if Nixon was responsible for any of those. He did seem to be quite a tech-head.

The armed men kept pace a few steps behind Kurogane, bringing up the rearof their party as Nixon led them up a flight of steps. Kurogane hated to admit it, but even the climb up one set of stairs left him gasping for breath. He was completely out of shape, though being shot in the chest repeatedly would leave others bedridden for a lot longer. But it still bothered Kurogane that he was tiring so easily. How was he supposed to look for the others if he couldn't even climb up a set of stairs?

Nixon slowed once they reached the top, leading them down a long hallway. He must have noticed Kurogane's weakness, but the other man didn't offer him any help, letting Kurogane retain what little of his dignity remained. For that, he was grateful.

Pushing past a set of double swinging doors, Nixon led Kurogane outside into the dreary streets. All around them, the blackened shells of skyscrapers appeared to reach out towards the sky like skeletal fingers. Unlike what Kurogane had seen of Cavahall before the raid, he could scarcely spot any holographic screens hovering above their heads. However, he did see the remains of several broken projectors. The streets were wider here. Enough for people to ride around in spherical contraptions and still leave enough room for people to walk.

Pedestrians gave them curious stares as they passed, though many stopped to gape at Kurogane, specifically once they had gotten a closer look. Nixon was still walking at a slow pace so as to not tire out his charge, but Kurogane had to wonder if the medic had asked Nixon to make Kurogane walk all the way. He doubted the exertion was doing his insides any good.

The whispering began once they turned a corner, and Kurogane didn't even have to strain to pick up on the familiar name being murmured behind them. He wondered how much these people knew about him. Did they know he wasn't Steel, or did they think their leader was back from the dead? A few of the passerby attempted to talk to them but Nixon waved them off, picking up their pace once again. The armed guards closed the distance between them at his back and Kurogane realized that they were there for his protection as well.

"Don't mind those guys," Nixon said as they arrived at the entrance of a building. "They like to gossip. Give it a day or two and they'd have found something new to talk about."

Kurogane said nothing as spots of blackness danced across his vision. It took all his concentration to keep walking without tripping over his feet. His missing arm didn't exactly help matters with his poor balance either, but so far, he had managed not to stumble as he followed Nixon. The insides of this building appeared far cleaner then the streets outside, the air heavy with the stench of disinfectant. This was probably the medical bay.

"Hmm, I wonder where Masooma is right now," Nixon said to no one in particular as he waved his hands in the air. Unlike the last time Kurogane had seen the man do it, no holographic screens appeared in the air before them. But Nixon kept flicking his fingers as though manipulating something visible only to him. For all Kurogane knew, it probably was, because only a moment later, the man let out a triumphant sound. "_There_ she is. All right guys, let's go," he said,moving with a purpose as he led them to an elevator. "She's checking up on a patient on the third floor."

"When do I get my arm back?" he asked once they were all safely inside the lift. He silently cursed his labored breathing.

"That's up to Tommy, really," Nixon replied, shooting him a semi-apologetic look. "I did say we were giving you the benefit of the doubt, not the benefit of weapons you can use against us."

"How does me keeping my arm really give me any benefits?" Kurogane fumed. He could barely stay upright.

"It doesn't in your current state," Nixon replied. "But once you get better, it'll be kind of hard to wrestle it back. I suppose we could always just tranquilize you and take it off but I'd prefer to avoid that hassle if I can."

"You can't do this."

"On the contrary," Nixon said, "you'll find that we can. After you." He swept a hand towards the door as the lift arrived at its destination. Shooting him a glare, Kurogane stomped outside. The effect was ruined when he ended up having to clutch at the wall right outside to keep from falling over. Nixon hurried over to help him but Kurogane pushed him away with an irritated grunt.

"I'm fine."

"You look ready to keel over," Nixon said, hovering next to him as Kurogane tried to get over the sense of vertigo.

"I said I'm _fine,_" he barked. Luck, it would seem, wasn't on his side, for the world then tilted on its axis, sending Kurogane crashing to the floor. He heard the sound of running footsteps somewhere in the distance before everything faded away.

"What kind of an idiot makes a man in _his _condition _walk_ all the way?" a woman hissedsomewhere nearby. It took Kurogane a moment to identify the speaker as Masooma. A heart monitor beeped steadily, letting him know that he was back in the infirmary. "I admit you're brilliant at what you do, but you're still an idiot."

"On the bright side, I got him here in one piece," Nixon pointed out hopefully. Still feeling tired, Kurogane kept his eyes closed. His eyelids felt like they were weighed down by lead, and Kurogane wasn't sure if he would even stay awake for long.

"Cute," Masooma chuckled, "but that doesn't let you off the hook. You're still sleeping on the couch tonight."

"What?" Nixon yelped, before he heard the sound of flesh being hit. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Keep your voice down; you'll wake him," Masooma warned him in hushed tones and Kurogane decided that she must have hit Nixon. "The interrogation was necessary, I know, but did you guys have to go all out on him? He's still recovering."

"You'll have to take that up with Chu'nyan," Nixon replied. "As it turns out, Kurogane here is immune to her, which naturally pissed her off. So she decided to, as you put it, go all out on him."

"Well, at least he's stable now." Masooma sighed. "Why are you here, by the way? I'm still working on him."

"I need to talk to the guy."

"Right now?"

"The sooner the better. I need to get a description of his companions. Tomoyo doesn't fully trust him, but she's agreed that if he's got others like him, it'd be better to have them all in a place where we can watch them. And if he's telling the truth…" He paused. "He made it sound pretty damn important that we find them as soon as possible."

Kurogane had nearly drifted off to sleep again, but the mention of his friends sent a shock of awareness through him. He couldn't sleep now because the others were still out there and he needed to get to them. These people were offering to help him. He had to let them know that he was awake enough to talk.

"I understand," Masooma said, but Kurogane found it a little hard to focus as he concentrated all his energy into trying to open his eyes. It felt as though hiseyelids had been glued together. "But he's still asleep right now. I'll send for you when he wakes up."

"No. Wait," Kurogane whispered. His eyes burned as he finally managed to open them. Turning his head, he looked at the pair beside his bed. His throat felt parched, but he didn't bother asking for water. This was more important. "I'll tell you now."

"All right." Nixon nodded, pulling up a plastic chair next to his bed before sitting down. "Start with their descriptions."

"The kid, Syaoran, he's got brown hair and eyes like hers." He jerked his head towards Masooma. "He's five feet eleven inches tall, with a tan complexion and athletic build. The mage, Fai, is blond, blue-eyed. Six feet two inches, pale and more on the skinny side. Mokona is like a white meat-bun, long-eared with a red jewel on its forehead. It's small enough to fit into my palm." He briefly wondered if they even understood Mokona's description. The creature was one of only two that he knew of.

"You're traveling with a magician?" Nixon asked, giving him a sharp look. "Why didn't you mention this before?"

"I'm traveling with two," Kurogane corrected. "The kid's a mage too. And I didn't think it was important at the time."

"Well now, this changes things." Nixon said, getting to his feet.

"What? You're starting to believe me all of sudden?"

"Nope. But you mentioning your companions' Unnatural status gave me a couple of ideas on where to look for them. You said you saw them during the raid. Were they behaving oddly back then?"

"I don't think the mage even saw me." Kurogane grunted. He felt his eyelids slide close of their own accord and he had to fight to stay awake. He couldn't fall asleep again. "The kid didn't seem to recognize me at all."

Nixon frowned and Kurogane felt his heartbeat speed up.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to keep the hope out of his tone.

"Like I said, I think I know where to search for your friends. If you're telling the truth that is."

"I'm not lying!"

"Great, I'll go see what I can dig up then. He's all yours, Masooma."

And then, without waiting for a response, Nixon raced out the door, leaving a suddenly-very-tired Kurogane behind. As he let sleep take him in its embrace once more, Kurogane could only hope that the information he had provided about his companions would be enough for Nixon to locate them.

**_A/N: Well guys, Mokona seems to have found someone willing to help it and Kurogane's appears to have gotten some allies as well. But, will that be enough to help them meet reunite with the others? _**

**_Next up, it's Syaoran's turn again. I have the next couple of chapters all typed up but updates might be a little slow for Lillies this month because I'm gonna be busy with NaNoWriMo and I'll be out of pre-written chapters before it's over. So yeah, apologies in advance for the delay. ^^; _**

**_Are any of you guys participating?_**


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